'^^ 


^■'Jl.L^..  0.0. 


A 


ITiglt  fr0m  t|e 


SEEMONS 


PASSION  OF  OUH  LORD. 


tettslntfii  ftora  tj)t  (Itrrann 


DS.   A.   THOLUCK, 

UNIVERSITY-PREACHER  AND  PROFESSOR  OF  THEOLOST  IN  THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  HALLE, 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM    S.    &    ALFRED    MARTIEN, 

No.  608  Chestnut  Street. 
1858. 


CONTENTS. 


PART  I. 

THE  CROSS  A  REVEALER  OF  THE  HEARTS  OF  MEN. 

Page 

SERMON  I. 

THE  APPEARANCE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  IN  THE  FLESH  IS  THE 
TEST  WHICH  TRIES  AND  BRINGS  TO  LIGHT  WHAT  IS  IN 
EVERY   HUMAN   HEART. — LUKE   II.  34,  35 9 

SERMON  II. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR's  PASSION  MAKES  MANIFEST 
IN    CAIAPHAS    TO     WHAT    A    DEGREE    THE     HUMAN     HEART 

MAY    HARDEN     ITSELF     AGAINST    THE     TRUTH. MATTHEW 

XIII.  14,  15 26 

SERMON.  III. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUr's  PASSION  MAKES  MANIFEST 
IN  JUDAS  TO  WHAT  A  DEGREE  THE  HUMAN  HEART  MAY 
HARDEN  ITSELF  AGAINST  THE  TRUTH,  AFTER  HAVING  ONCE 
KNOWN  THE  WAY  OF  RIGHTEOUSNESS. — 2  PETER  II.  20,  21,         45 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  IV. 


Page 


THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR  S  PASSION  REVEALS  IN  PILATE 
TO  WHAT  A  DEGREE  THE  HUMAN  HEART  IS  CAPABLE  OF 
SHALLOWNESS  AND  VANITY. — JOHN  XVIII.  38 61 

SERMON  V. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR's  PASSION  MAKES  MANIFEST 
IN  PETER  TO  WHAT  AN  EXTENT  THE  HUMAN  HEART  MAY 
WAVER  IN  ITS  ATTACHMENT  TO  HIM  IN  WHOM  IT  HAS  CON- 
FESSEDLY   FOUND    THE    WORDS     OF    ETERNAL     LIFE. JOHN 

VI.  67-69 ;  and  luke  xxii.  60-62 77 

SERMON  VI. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR's  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION 
REVEALS  IN  MARY,  THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  LORD,  WHAT  A 
HUMAN  HEART  MAY  BECOME  UNDER  THE  TRAINING  AND 
DISCIPLINE    OF   GOD. — LUKE  II.  34,  35 93 

SERMON  VII. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR's  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION 
REVEALS  IN  THOMAS  WHAT  A  HUMAN  HEART  MAY  BE- 
COME   UNDER    THE    TRAINING    AND     DISCIPLINE    OF    GOD. 

JOHN    XX.  29 109 


CONTENTS. 


PART   II. 

THE  SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 


SERMON  I. 

Page 
JESUS    IN   GETHSEMANE. — MATTHEW   XXVI.   36-40 125 

SERMON  II. 

JESUS    AND    HIS  BETRAYER. — LUKE  XXII.  47,  48 141 

SERMON  III. 

THE    SILENCE    OF   JESUS. MATTHEW   XXYI.  62 155 

SERMON  IV. 

THE   OATH    or   JESUS. — MATTHEW   XXVI.    63,    64. .  , 109 

SERMON  V. 

THE     TESTIMONY    OF     JESUS:     MY    KINGDOM    IS   NOT   OF    THIS 

WORLD. — JOHN    XVIII.  33-36 185 

SERMON  VI. 

THE    CONFESSION   OF   JESUS*.    I  AM  A  KING. — JOHN  XVIII.  37.        200 

SERMON  VII. 

THE    COMMAND    OF    JESUS'.    WEEP    NOT     FOR    ME,    BUT    WEEP 

FOR   YOURSELVES. — LUKE    XXIII.    26-31 216 


CONTENTS. 


SERMON  VIII. 

Page 

THE    PRAYER    OF    JESUS:    FATHER,    FORGIVE    THEM,   FOR    THEY 

KNOW    NOT    WHAT    THEY    DO. LUKE     XXIII.    33-35 231 

SERMON  IX. 

JESUS   AND    THE    PENITENT    THIEF. LUKE    XXIII.    39-43..  .  .       246 

SERMON  X. 

THE    FILIAL    LOVE   OF    JESUS. — JOHN    XIX.    25-27 262 

SERMON  XI. 

ELI,     ELI,     LAMA     SABACHTHANI?     MY    GOD,     MY    GOD,     WHY 

HAST    THOU    FORSAKEN    ME? MATTHEW    XXVII.    45,    46.,       278 

SERMON  XII. 

ELI,     ELI,     LAMA     SABACHTHANI?      MY     GOD,     MY     GOD,     WHY 

HAST    THOU    FORSAKEN    ME? MATTHEW    XXVII.    45,    46 292 

SERMON  XIII. 

JESUS    SAITH,    I    THIRST.— JOHN     XIX.    28 307 

SERMON  XIV. 

THE    DEATH    OF   JESUS.— JOHN  XIX.   30 320 

SERMON  XV.* 

THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS.   EFFECTS  OF  THE  DEATH  OF  JESUS. 

LUKE  XXIII.  46-48 332 


TRANSLATOR'S  PREFACE, 


The  Discourses  contained  in  this  volume  are  selected 
from  the  fourth  and  fifth  volumes  of  Dr.  Tholuck's 
Sermons.  They  were  originally  delivered  in  the 
University  service  at  Halle,  where  Dr.  Tholuck  is 
preacher  to  the  University.  From  the  character  of 
the  congregation  on  such  occasions — which  is,  of 
course,  composed  to  a  large  extent  of  students — the 
Sermons  will  be  found  to  have  often  a  special  refer- 
ence to  the  case  of  young  men.  It  is  hoped  that  they 
will  also  in  this  form  be  found  useful  to  students,  and 
to  thoughtful,  inquiring  young  men  generally;  and 
that  they  will  thus  help  to  supply  a  want  in  our  exist- 
ing Christian  literature.  May  the  picture  which  they 
present  of  the  suffering  Saviour  be  blessed  to  draw 
many  such  to  him  ''who  bore  our  sins  in  his  own  body 
on  the  tree!" 

The  Sermons  were  not,  however,  addressed  exclu- 
sively to  the  students.  A  large,  promiscuous  congre- 
gation is  always  present  at  those  services,  to  enjoy 
the  privilege  of  hearing  one  of  the  greatest  preachers 


8  translator's  preface. 

of  the  age.  Consequently  all  classes  and  all  ages 
may  expect  to  find  in  these  discourses  something  to 
quicken  and  to  bless ; — rich  thoughts  drawn  from  the 
mine  of  Truth — deep,  far-reaching  glances  into  the 
heart  of  man — and  such  an  insight  into  the  heart  of 
Jesus  in  the  hours  of  his  sufferings,  as  is  vouchsafed 
not  to  learning  or  philosophy,  but  to  humble  faith 
alone.  Dr.  Tholuck  is  well  known  in  our  country  as 
an  erudite  theologian  and  an  able  expositor  of  sacred 
truth.  But  commentaries  do  not  teach  us  much  of  a 
man's  true  nature,  or  open  up  his  hidden  life.  These 
Sermons  will  convey  some  idea  of  those  pulpit  min- 
istrations of  Dr.  Tholuck,  by  which  he  exercises  so 
mighty  and  hallowed  an  influence.  We  trust  that  in 
them,  even  though  it  be  through  the  medium  of  a 
translation,  he  may  still  speak  with  power  to  many  a 
heart,  R.  L.  B. 

Halle,  Januari/,  1857. 


PAET  I. 

THE   CKOSS  A  REVEALER  OF   THE 
HEARTS  OF  MEN, 


SERMON  I; 

THE  APPEARANCE  OF  JESUS  CHRIST  IN  THE  FLESH  IS  THE  TEST 
WHICH  TRIES  AND  BRINGS  TO  LIGHT  WHAT  IS  IN  EVERY  HUMAN 
HEART. 

Luke  ii.  34,  35. — And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto  Mary 
his  mother,  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of 
many  in  Israel;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be  spoken  against; 
(yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,)  that  the 
thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  he  revealed. 

Those  of  you,  my  brethren,  who  have  had  opportuni- 
ties of  associating  much  with  true  believers,  must  have 
observed  that  it  had  become  a  kind  of  habit  with  them 
to  say,  in  reference  to  any  remarkable  event  in  the 
Christian  life,  "  Thus  has  this  or  that  saying  of  Scrip- 
ture again  proved  true."  This  was  a  common  prac- 
tice with  the  Apostles,  who  often  refer  to  sayings  of 
the  Old  Testament  in  this  way.  Now,  the  truth  which 
this  circumstance  brings  very  strongly  before  one's 
mind  is,  that  the  word  of  God  holds  good  in  every  age 
of  the  world's  history.  And,  particularly,  what  we 
read  in  the  Bible,  of  the  way  God  deals  with  men, 
and  men  with  God — and  in  a  very  special  way,  at  the 
2 


10  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

time  of  the  appearance  of  our  Lord — is  of  such  a  char- 
acter as  we  often  see  recurring  in  history.  As  we 
contemplate  the  course  of  events,  and, 

**By  the  light  His  words  disclose, 
Watch  Time's  full  river  as  it  flows," 

we  often  have  occasion  to  exclaim,  "  Thus  has  this  or 
that  New  Testament  Scripture  again  proved  true.'* 
In  our  service  of  to-daj,  an  expression  of  this  nature 
shall  engage  our  attention.  It  is  a  Scripture-saying, 
whose  truth  was  first  estahlished  in  the  history  of 
Christ,  and  which  the  experience  of  every  subsequent 
age  has  confirmed.  I  purpose  to  make  our  present 
meditation  the  introduction  to  a  series  of  connected 
discourses,  such  as  I  have  long  entertained  the  wish 
to  hold. 

You  will  find  our  text  in  the  prophetic  words  of  the 
aged  Simeon,  spoken  when  the  child  Jesus  was  for  the 
first  time  brought  into  the  temple  by  his  parents,  in 
the  days  of  the  legal  purification.  We  read  in  Luke 
ii.  34,  35,  ''And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto 
Mary  his  mother,  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall 
and  rising  again  of  many  in  Israel;  and  for  a  sign 
which  shall  he  spoken  against;  {yea,  a  stvord  shall 
fierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,)  that  the  thoughts 
of  many  hearts  may  he  revealed,"  I  scarcely  think 
a  more  solemn  scene,  or  one  bearing  more  clearly  on 
the  face  of  it  a  character  of  perfect  truthfulness,  can 
be  conceived,  than  the  one  into  which  these  words  of 
the  Evangelist  transport  us.  The  very  thought  of 
the  little  circle  gathered  round  the  holy  child  Jesus, 
is  itself  deeply  affecting.     Those  were  assembled  there 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  11 

-who,  as  we  read,  at  that  time  "waited  for  the  conso- 
lation of  Israel."  And  so  it  was  a  little  company, 
gathered  together  from  among  the  multitudes  in  Jeru- 
salem, composed  of  men  whose  lives  were  one  ardent 
longing,  one  strong  never-fading  hope,  and  the  object 
of  whose  longing  and  hope  was,  that  "the  salvation  of 
Israel  would  come  out  of  Zion,  and  that  the  Lord 
would  bring  back  the  captivity  of  his  people."  Their 
number  was,  to  all  appearance,  small,  and  they  were 
all,  probably,  pretty  old  and  well-stricken  in  years — 
at  least  Simeon  and  Anna  were.  Touching  is  it  also 
to  think  that  they  had  been  wont  often  to  meet 
together  in  that  very  Temple  for  the  purpose  of  unit- 
ing in  prayer.  The  knowledge  that  one  of  their 
number  had  received  the  promise  that  he  should 
not  die  until  he  had  seen  the.  Lord's  Christ,  would, 
moreover,  strengthen  the  faith  and  nourish  the  hope 
of  all  that  little  company.  And  now  as  they  were 
together  in  the  Temple,  behold,  the  child  of  God, 
the  object  of  their  longing  and  prayers,  draws  near, 
borne  in  the  arms  of  his  mother.  But  how  are  they 
to  recognize  the  promised  child?  A  Holy  One  is 
there,  but  no  nimbus  surrounds  his  brow;  a  king,  but 
no  diadem  wreathes  his  head.  The  grace  of  God  dis- 
closed him,  and  to  Simeon's  heart  he  was  revealed. 
Then  it  was  that  Simeon,  under  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  advanced,  and  took  up  the  word  of  prophecy. 
He  significantly  addressed  his  words,  not  to  the  father 
of  the  child,  but  to  his  mother.  It  was  no  pleasant 
flattering  speech  he  made ;  it  was  no  light  laughing 
dream  of  victory  he  foretold.      0  no!     He  calls  the 


12  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

child  a  rock — a  rock  on  which  a  part  of  Israel  shall  be 
broken.  There  was  further  unveiled  before  his  pro- 
phetic eye  a  sword  which  should  pierce  the  sorrow- 
laden  heart  of  the  mother — 'Hhat  the  thoughts  of 
many  hearts  might  he  revealed!'''  These  words, 
which  form  the  conclusion  of  his  prophecy,  were  thus 
to  have  special  reference  to  the  time  when  the  mother's 
heart  was  to  be  pierced  by  a  sword;  or,  in  other 
words,  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  are  revealed  in  a 
preeminent  degree  beneath  the  cross  of  Christ.  But 
they  were  also  true  of  the  whole  period  of  the  mani- 
festation of  God  in  the  flesh.  The  thought,  which 
shall  form  the  basis  of  this  and  the  following  discourses, 
then  is : 

The  appearance  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  test  which 
first  truly  tries  and  brings  to  light  what  is  in  every 
human  heart. 

Let  us  consider  how  this  truth  is  established,  first 
generally^  and  then  especially  in  the  history  of  our 
Saviour's  Passion, 

First  then,  in  general,  the  appearance  of  Jesus  Christ 
in  the  flesh  is  the  test  of  the  human  heart  which  alone 
truly  tries  and  brings  to  light  what  is  in  every  man. 
There  are  some  men  who  possess  the  gift  of  being  able 
to  discover  at  the  first  glance  the  character  of  any  man 
they  may  happen  to  meet — of  course  the  art  of  know- 
ing one's-self  is  always  much  harder  to  learn.  What 
do  we  mean  by  the  phrase  when  we  say  that  "  a  man 
has  something  in  him"?  By  this,  we  do  not  mean 
merely  to  say  that  a  man  has  talent  and  abilities,  but 
we  refer  rather  to  the  use  he  makes  of  those  abilities : 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  13 

we  do  not  think  so  mucli  of  what  a  man  has,  but 
rather  of  what  he  is.  It  is  the  disposition,  the  will  of 
which  we  speak.  And  this  is  what  the  Scriptures 
speak  of,  when  we  read  "that  what  is  in  men  is 
revealed"  through  Christ;  for,  according  to  the  words 
of  our  Lord,  it  is  out  of  the  heart  that  bad  thoughts 
proceed,  and  it  is  of  the  thoughts  and  imaginations  of 
the  heart  that  it  is  said,  "  they  are  evil  from  his  youth." 
Now,  what  is  "in  a  man,"  that  is,  what  his  heart  is, 
is  determined  by  what  he  loves.  The  worth  of  a  man 
is  determined  by  the  nature  of  the  objects  which  he 
loves.  For  people  love  only  that  which  has  some 
affinity  to  themselves,  that  in  which  they  find  them- 
selves as  it  were  reproduced.  What  you  are  worth  is 
determined  by  what  you  love.  Now,  the  great  object 
of  human  love  is  God.  He  is  the  ineffable  portion  of 
the  soul,  the  blessing  above  all  blessings,  the  cenfere 
and  source  of  every  good  thing,  and  He,  above  all 
and  before  all,  deserves  our  love.  This  we  all  acknow- 
ledge, and  who  does  not?  But  is  there  any  one  that 
says.  Thou  lovest  him,  and  yet  thou  lovest  him  not  ? 
Is  not  the  love  we  feel  to  Him  hidden  and  invisible 
like  himself?  Is  it  not  that  sacred  thing  which  the 
soul  cherishes  in  silence  and  in  solitude,  within  the 
secret  recesses  of  her  being  ?  Now,  in  answer  to  this, 
I  might  say,  that  although  it  be  true  that  the  flame  of 
love  to  God  burns  in  secret  upon  the  altar  of  the  soul, 
still  its  brightness  and  its  heat  must  be  seen  and  felt; 
for  love  must  manifest  itself  in  outward  actions.  But 
I  will  content  myself  with  asking,  how  can  God  be 
the  subject  of  merely  a  secret,  hidden  love  any  more, 
2* 


14  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

now  that  Christ  has  come  into  the  world?  "Whoso- 
ever loveth  him  that  begat,  loveth  him  also  that  is 
begotten  of  him,"  says  the  Apostle.  "No  man  hath 
seen  God  at  any  time.  If  we  love  one  another,  God 
dwelleth  in  us."  We  may  make  a  thousand  profes- 
sions of  our  love  to  the  unseen  God,  and  yet  so  long 
as  we  have  no  fellow-feeling  for  those  whom  he  has 
renewed  and  made  reflections  of  his  grace  and  truth, 
our  speeches  are  but  as  the  sounding  brass  and  the 
tinkling  cymbal.  Brethren,  you  denounce  the  con- 
duct of  the  man  who  steels  his  heart  against  his 
brother,  against  him  in  whose  veins  the  same  blood 
flows.  You  call  him  inhuman,  because  he  dishonours 
the  name  and  the  memory  of  their  common  father ; 
you  say  that  name,  that  memory,  cannot  truly  be  the 
object  of  his  love.  And  I  ask,  can  we  truly  love  our 
Heavenly  Father,  and  at  the  same  time  close  our 
heart  against  that  brother  in  whom  the  very  Spirit  of 
grace  and  truth  by  whom  we  are  renewed  dwells  and 
rules.  Farther,  I  say,  our  love,  not  only  to  the 
brethren,  but  also  towards  every  one  in  whom  we  can 
trace,  it  may  be,  nothing  more  than  an  earnest  religi- 
ous striving  towards  God,  a  moving  of  the  heart  towards 
God,  is  also  a  test  by  which  is  brought  to  light  what 
is  really  in  us.  It  is  surely  indisputably  certain  that 
all  the  longing  of  man  towards  God  is  fulfilled  and 
satisfied  in  Christ  alone.  If  this  then  be  true,  can  we 
regard  any  human  heart  that  is  thirsting  for  light  and 
life  from  God,  otherwise  than  as  a  heart  already  stand- 
ing in  a  certain  relation  to  Christ?  "He  that  is  of 
God,  heareth  the  voice  of  God,"  says  Jesus,  and  in 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF  MEN.  15 

these  words  lie  teaches  that  no  man  can  find  God  in 
whose  heart  the  Spirit  of  God  is  not  already  at  work, 
and  that  no  man  can  come  to  the  Son  but  he  whom 
the  Father  hath  drawn.  For  Christ  is  the  image  of 
the  invisible  God — God  manifest  in  the  flesh;  and 
John,  at  the  age  of  eighty,  can  still  with  the  fire  of 
youthful  enthusiasm  exclaim:  "We  beheld  His  glory, 
the  glory  of  the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of 
grace  and  truth."  And  again,  in  his  Epistle :  "The 
Life  was  manifested,  and  we  have  seen  it,  and  bear 
witness,  and  show  unto  you  that  eternal  Life,  which 
was  with  the  Father,  and  was  manifested  unto  us." 
Now,  if  this  is  the  truth  with  regard  to  Christ,  if  Christ 
is  indeed  the  Life  of  God  made  manifest,  the  visible 
Son  of  the  unseen  Father,  then  it  is  unquestionably 
certain  that,  according  to  the  love  we  have  towards 
the  Son,  is  the  degree  and  the  sincerity  of  our  love 
towards  the  Father.  For  now  that  He  is  come  into 
the  world,  who  could  say:  "Learn  of  Me,  for  I  am 
meek  and  lowly  in  heart;"  now  that  He  hath  appeared 
in  the  flesh,  who  could  say  what  no  other  human  lips 
had  dared  to  say  before :  "  He  that  hath  seen  me,  hath 
seen  the  Father;" — we  must  testify  to  the  fact  that 
the  Only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and 
truth,  is  set  up  as  a  criterion  whereby  is  tried  and 
tested  what  our  love  to  God  is  worth,  what  we  ourselves 
are  worth.  We  have  heard  prophetic  words  from  the 
mouth  of  Simeon,  which  express  this  thought.  Let 
us  now  listen  to  the  same  thought  spoken  by  the 
Redeemer  himself,  by  Him  who  was  the  humblest  and 
the  lowliest  among  the  sons  of  men.     The  words  to 


16  THE    CROSS  A   REVEALER 

■which  I  am  about  to  direct  your  attention  are  very 
remarkable  words.  When  for  the  first  time  the  thought 
they  contain  was  unfolded  before  my  mental  eye,  with 
what  a  marvellous  power  did  it  seize  me !  How  appalled 
was  I,  when  I  thus  learned  to  understand  aright  the 
real  cause  of  all  love  to  Christ,  and  of  all  turning  from 
him !  And  in  saying  this,  do  I  not  express  your  own 
experience?  We  read  in  John:  "And  the  Father 
himself  which  hath  sent  me,  hath  borne  witness  of  me. 
Ye  have  neither  heard  his  voice  at  any  time,  nor  seen 
his  shape.  And  ye  "have  not  his  word  abiding  in 
you;  for  whom  he  hath  sent,  him  ye  believe  not.  I 
receive  not  honour  from  men,  but  I  know  you,  that 
ye  have  not  the  love  of  God  in  you,''  It  may  have 
escaped  many  of  you  what  the  real  point  of  these 
words  is,  for  the  thoughts  hang  somewhat  loosely 
together;  but  their  meaning  is  plain.  There  can  be 
no  doubt  that  what  the  Lord  here  reproaches  the  Jews 
with  is,  that  they  do  not  love  him,  because  they  have 
not  the  word  of  Grod  abiding  in  them,  because  they 
have  not  the  love  of  God  in  them.  And  so  he  whom 
we  reverence  as  the  perfect  pattern  of  humility,  gives 
us  here  to  know  that  to  have  the  word  of  God  in  our 
heart,  and  truly  to  love  God,  and  yet  not  feel  ourselves 
drawn  to  him,  experience  no  love  to  him,  is  a  thing 
quite  impossible.  Nor  is  this  the  only  passage  where 
he  announces  this.  We  find  other  sayings  of  his 
expressive  of  the  same  truth.  "Jesus  said  unto  them, 
if  God  were  your  Father,  ye  would  love  me,  for  I  pro- 
ceeded forth  and  came  from  God."  And  again: 
"Ye  neither  know  me  nor  my  Father:    if  ye  had 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OP   MEN.  17 

known  me,  ye  should  have  known  my  Father  also.'* 
Then,  were  it  not  that  in  Christ,  in  this  thorough 
union  of  the  divine  with  the  human,  we  see  the  manifes- 
tation of  God  himself,  how,  I  ask,  were  it  not  for  this, 
could  we  reconcile  with  his  humility  the  high  degree 
of  love  which  he  demands?  "He  that  loveth  father 
or  mother  more  than  me,"  he  says,  "is  not  worthy  of 
me."  What  mere  mortal  has  ever  laid  claim  to  such 
a  love  as  this  ?  I  may  thus  rest  upon  the  words  of 
Christ  himself,  and  not  merely  upon  the  words  of 
Simeon,  this  statement,  which  I  utter  with  the  firmest 
conviction  of  its  truth,  that  the  degree  in  which  a 
man  is  attracted,  ravished,  overpowered,  hy  the 
appearance  of  Christ  in  the  flesh,  is  the  measure  of 
his  love  to  Crod, 

You  do  not  think  that  it  makes  any  difference  that 
He  is  no  longer  visible  to  our  bodily  sight  ?  For  is 
not  the  word  "we  have  seen  His  glory"  ever  fresh, 
ever  new  upon  the  earth?  Or  did  that  glory  die 
away,  when  the  last  eye-witness  of  his  majesty  was 
laid  in  the  tomb  ?  This  might  have  been  possible  had 
his  glory  been  a  thing  which  the  eyes  of  the  body 
alone  ever  could  have  seen;  but  such  it  was  not. 
Caiaphas  saw  with  bodily  eyes,  and  yet  did  he  really 
see?  They  have  eyes,  but  see  not,  Jesus  himself 
said.  Only  with  spiritual  eyes  could  men  see  his 
glory  in  those  days ;  and  with  spiritual  eyes  alone  can 
we  see  his  glory  now.  And  that  even  now  we  can  thus 
behold  it  is  surely  a  proof  of  the  inspiration  of  the 
sacred  Evangelists.  If  it  be  true  that  these  things 
which   they  tell   us   of  Christ,    come   home  to   the 


18  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

believers  of  every  century  with  all  their  original 
power ;  if  men  living  nineteen  centuries  after  Christ 
are  as  deeply  impressed  by  them  as  they  who  were 
eye-witnesses  of  them  were ;  if,  at  this  day,  any  one 
who  reads  the  words  of  Christ  is  forced  to  exclaim, 
like  those  who  heard  them :  "  Never  man  spake  like 
this  man;" — can,  I  ask,  any  other  proof  than  this  be 
required  of  the  truth  that  the  hand  of  God  guided  the 
pens  of  those  men  who  wrote  of  Christ?  Thus  the 
sublime  form  of  the  Son  of  Man  is  still  present  upon 
the  earth ;  there  it  stands,  drawn  in  living  lines  upon 
the  page  of  revelation !  There  it  stands,  as  a  test  by 
which,  to  the  end  of  time,  the  human  heart  shall  be 
brought  to  light.  But  He  is  also  present  with  us  in 
another  way.  Did  he  not  say  that  he  would  come 
again  and  take  up  his  abode  with  us  ?  Are  not  believers 
his  temple,  his  body  his  members  ?  Is  he  not  ever- 
more present  in  every  one  who  is  born  of  the  Holy 
Ghost?  We  are  doubtless  but  weak  members  of  his 
body,  as  with  humility,  we  confess ;  but  certain  it  is, 
if  we  are  Christ's  at  all,  then  the  Spirit  of  Christ  must 
be  our  guide,  and  something  of  Christ  must  be  mani- 
fest in  us.  Hence,  I  say  further,  as  regards  believers 
also,  Christ  is  a  test  of  the  human  heart.  He  who 
truly  loves  Christ  cannot  hate  any  man  who  believes 
on  him ;  he  who  has  no  love  towards  those  who  believe 
on  Christ,  can  have  no  love  for  Christ.  "  If  they 
have  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute  you ;  if 
they  have  kept  my  word,  they  will  keep  yours  also." 
By  these  words,  Jesus  bound  indissolubly  together  his 
own  destiny  in  the  world  and  that  of  his  people. 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  19 

Weaknesses,  infirmities,  faults  and  failings,  ought  not 
to  separate  us  from  one  another,  for  we  all  have  to 
acknowledge  them  in  ourselves.  Should  any  man 
hate  his  own  flesh  and  blood  ?  and  every  Christian  is 
my  own  flesh  and  blood)  nay,  he  is  more,  for  he  is 
one  spirit  with  me.  But  v^  go  further.  All  the  reli- 
gious life  and  religious  stri^ng  that  we  see  in  humanity 
finds  its  consummation  and  perfection  only  in  Christ. 
Christ  is  the  end  of  all  religion ;  Christ  is  the  goal 
whither  the  religious  spirit  tends  and  strives ;  Christ 
is  the  home  where  alone  the  human  soul  finds  the  end 
of  all  its  longings  after  God.  He  has  himself  pointed 
out  that  the  heart  that  would  find  and  appropriate 
him,  must  have  some  affinity  with  himself.  '''He  that 
is  of  G-od^''  he  says,  "heareth  my  voice."  And, 
therefore  the  man,  whoever  he  may  be,  who  followeth 
hard  after  God,  though  in  his  search  for  him  it  be  by 
circuitous  and  doubtful  ways  he  journeys,  shall  be  the 
object  of  my  love.  And  the  measure  of  my  love  for  a 
man  shall  be  the  degree  of  sincerity  with  which  he 
seeketh  unto  God,  or  the  degree  of  self-surrender  with 
which  he  has  found  him  in  Christ.  To  this  consider- 
ation shall  every  other  be  subordinate. 

And  how  do  matters  stand  with  us  in  this  respect? 
How  is  it  with  our  love  to  Christ,  and  to  all  those  who 
are  the  members  of  his  body?  How  is  it  with  our 
love  to  those  who  make  only  religion  the  central  point 
of  all  their  labours,  and  even  that  in  a  most  imperfect 
way  ?  Can  it  be  said  of  each  one  of  us,  that  we  have 
been  brought  into  so  living  and  personal  a  relation 
with  the  glorified  Son  of  God,  that  we  can  truly  say, 


20  THE    CROSS  A   REVEALER 

"  Christ  is  the  supreme  object  of  my  love ;  I  love  him 
as  he  demands  to  be  loved;  I  love  him  more  than 
father  and  mother?"  Are  those  who  are  most  closely 
united  to  him,  even  when  they  are  deficient  in  human 
gifts  and  acquirements,  are  they  nevertheless  the 
dearest  objects  of  your  love — those  with  whom  you 
can  in  all  things  feel  most  closely  united?  We  ask 
nothing  about  your  confession  of  faith; — as  a  confes- 
sion of  your  faith  we  are  content  to  take  your  love. 
For  whoever  can  give  an  affirmative  answer  to  the 
question,  Lovest  thou  Christ  more  than  father  and 
mother,  wife  or  child  ? — 0 !  I  scarce  require  to  hear 
such  an  one  lay  down  a  confession  of  his  faith,  for 
sure  I  am  he  is  a  Christian,  seeing  he  holds  Christ 
more  dear  than  any  human  being.  But  what  a  reve- 
lation of  the  hearts  of  the  children  of  God  in  these 
days  is  given  by  the  fact,  that  there  are  those  among 
us  who  value  more  highly  the  assent  to  some  little 
article  of  their  peculiar  confession,  than  the  indubita- 
ble manifestations  of  a  loving  heart  towards  the  Lord 
Jesus !  There  are  thousands  ready  to  cry  out  when 
one  goes  too  far^  as  they  call  it ;  who  yet  have  not  a 
word  of  lamentation  for  those  who  do  not  go  far 
enough!  What  a  test  of  the  human  heart  is  Christ 
here  also !  Yet  the  present  is  a  time  which,  above  all 
others,  requires  that  those  that  love  Christ  should 
unite  more  closely  together.  If  the  words,  "  He  that 
is  not  for  you  is  against  you,"  have  ever  been  appli- 
cable to  the  people  of  God,  surely  they  are  applicable 
now — now,  when  the  Protestant  army  is  beginning  to 
break  up  into  two  hostile  camps — when  the  question 


OP   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  21 

is  no  longer  one  concerning  the  truth  of  certain  arti- 
cles of  faith — but  where  the  matter  at  issue  is,  whether 
the  State  is  to  retain  a  church  at  all,  Christendom  a 
Redeemer,  and  mankind  a  God.  Now  is  Christ  the 
banner  around  which  believers  must  rally  and  unite ; 
and  all  those  who  can  kneel  in  faith  before  his  cross 
must  stretch  out  to  each  other  the  hand  of  love;  for 
now  is  Christ  once  more  that  sign  which  shall  he 
spoken  against,  that  the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  may 
he  revealed. 

When  Simeon  spoke  these  words  he  had,  however, 
more  especially  before  his  eye  the  closing  period  of 
the  conflict  of  the  Redeemer  with  the  world;  he 
thought  of  the  period  of  his  sufferings ;  and  now  we 
would  show  that  it  is  true  with  more  special  reference 
to  the  time  of  our  Saviour's  sufferings  that  He  was  a 
test  of  the  human  heart,  which  tried  and  hrought  to 
light  what  is  in  man.  Never  have  the  deeds  of  men 
disclosed  what  is  in  the  human  heart  in  such  a  way  as 
was  done  by  their  dealings  towards  him  who  could 
say,  that  in  him  men  could  see  what  God  is — towards 
the  incarnate  Son  of  the  Father.  The  human  heart 
was  then  revealed  by  the  conduct  both  of  his  enemies 
and  of  his  friends.  It  was  revealed  by  the  conduct 
of  his  enemies.  And  surely  the  very  fact  that  the 
Lord  could  have  enemies  is  itself  a  striking  apocalypse 
of  the  heart  of  man.  And  then,  what  enemies  were 
his !  Let  us  look  at  them  for  a  moment.  Brethren, 
this  world  has  witnessed  many  a  scene  well  fitted,  one 
would  imagine,  to  undeceive  any  believer  in  the  radi- 
cal goodness  and  excellence  of  the  human  race.  Let 
3 


22  THE   CKOSS   A   REVEALER 

me  recall  to  you  one  of  those  scenes.  Scarcely  fifty 
years  are  gone  since  in  Europe,  amid  a  cultivated,  a 
Christian  people,  there  was  heard  a  cry,  the  very 
recollection  of  which  makes  the  blood  even  now  run 
cold  in  our  veins.  The  cry  was  this :  "  Things  will 
never  go  well  with  humanity,  until  the  last  king  is 
hung  with  the  intestines  of  the  last  priest!"  Whose 
blood  is  not  chilled  by  such  a  devilish  cry  ?  And  yet 
even  their  guilt  was  not  so  terrible  as  was  that  of  the 
murderers  of  Christ.  When  men  suffer  undeservedly, 
even  though  they  may  be  the  best  of  men,  we  cannot 
altogether  forget  that  they  are  sinners ;  the  measure 
of  their  own  guilt  may  be  very  small — it  may  be 
nothing  greater  than  a  want  of  wisdom — still  there  is 
always  some  amount  of  guilt  attaching  even  to  those 
who  fall  as  innocent  victims.  Add  to  this  the  retribu- 
tive justice  which  is  so  often  seen  in  their  death :  how 
often  does  the  weight  of  that  curse  which  had  gathered 
over  the  heads  of  the  guilty  ancestors  fall  upon  the 
comparatively  innocent  descendant,  and  crush  him  to 
the  dust.  Thus,  however  we  may  shudder  at  the 
atrocities  of  revolutionized  France,  still  we  cannot 
forget  that  it  is  the  heavy  sins  of  whole  generations 
of  kings  and  of  priests  that  are  there  expiated  in  a  sea 
of  blood.  And  then,  were  the  descendants  really, 
entirely  free  from  those  sins  of  their  ancestors  for 
which  they  suffered  ?  Now,  it  is  this  which  constitutes 
the  grand  distinction  between  the  place  of  torture 
where  Jesus  died,  and  all  the  scaffolds  upon  which 
innocent  men  have  shed  their  blood.  He  it  is,  and  he 
alone,  of  whom  it  can  without  falsehood  be  affirmed, 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  23 

"  He  had  no  sin,  neither  was  guile  found  in  his  mouth ; 
he  it  is,  and  he  alone,  who  could  say  that  whoever 
saw  him,  saw  the  invisible  Father.  And  it  is  he 
whom  men  have  taken,  and  with  wicked  hands  have 
crucified  and  slain !  Here  indeed  is  the  human  heart 
first  truly  revealed — revealed  even  in  the  deepest 
depths  of  its  depravity.  If  humanity  could  commit 
such  a  crime,  what  is  there  it  could  not  do  ?  And  it 
is  the  very  same  human  nature  that  was  disclosed  in 
Caiaphas,  in  Judas,  in  Pilate,  that  dwells  in  my 
breast ! 

But  further.  The  human  heart  is  revealed  also  in 
the  circle  of  the  friends  of  Jesus.  What  a  picture 
of  weakness  and  infirmity,  after  the  purest  and  most 
zealous  resolutions,  is  presented  to  us  in  Peter?  The 
man  who  had  borne  this  testimony  of  Jesus,  "  Thou 
art  the  Son  of  the  living  God;  thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life;  to  whom  can  we  go  but  unto  Thee;" 
can  in  the  hour  of  danger  say  of  him,  "I  know  him 
not!"  And  the  nature  which  this  test  reveals  in 
Peter,  is  not  the  nature  of  Peter  only.  No;  that 
human  nature  which  dwelt  in  the  breast  of  the  fallen 
disciple  dwells  in  my  breast  too !  Nor  is  Peter  the 
only  type  of  human  weakness  that  we  find  beneath 
the  cross.  See  you  not  yonder,  at  some  distance,  the 
other  disciples  crouching  timidly  together  ?  Not  one 
among  them  all  has  a  brave  word  to  speak  for  the 
man  of  their  heart  who  hangs  upon  the  cross.  Peter 
in  the  decisive  and  testing  hour  denied  him — the 
others  forsook  him  and  fled.  But  I  am  not  confined 
to  such  melancholy  and  disheartening  examples,  in 


24  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

speaking  of  the  disclosures  of  human  nature  which  the 
sufferings  of  Christ  called  forth.  The  suffering  Christ 
was  indeed  the  test  which  brought  to  light  how  far 
the  human  heart  is  capable  of  obduracy,  shallowness, 
and  fickleness ;  but  there  was  also  manifested  by  the 
sufferings  and  death  of  Christ  to  what  an  extent  the. 
human  heart  is  susceptible  of  the  influences  of  the 
grace  of  God.  There  it  was  seen  that,  in  spite  of  all 
the  weakness  of  the  disciples,  faith  had  still  a  firm 
foundation  in  their  soul.  What  might  follow  the 
tragic  close  of  their  Master's  life  they  had  no  idea; 
when  they  bore  him  to  the  tomb  they  carried  their 
hope  to  the  grave  along  with  him ;  but  not — blessed 
be  God — not  their  faith !  See  how  wonderfully  this 
is  exemplified  in  the  case  of  Nicodemus.  This  man, 
who  only  by  night  had  ventured  to  come  to  the  living 
Christ,  buries  the  dead  Christ  by  day !  He  confesses 
him  before  the  whole  world,  at  the  very  time  when  all 
his  hope  in  him  appeared  to  be  crushed!  But  the 
hope  which  they  buried  with  Jesus  revived  again 
when  the  grave  opened  its  mouth  and  their  Lord 
came  forth  victorious;  when  the  cross,  like  a  star 
shorn  of  its  beams,  streamed  upon  by  the  bright 
eastern  sun,  again  shed  forth  its  rays  afar,  to  comfort 
and  restore  the  nations!  The  spark  of  faith  in  the 
breasts  of  those  disciples,  which  the  load  of  the  cross 
had  well  nigh  suppressed,  broke  out  towards  heaven 
as  a  flame  of  joy,  which  nothing  could  extinguish  any 
more.  May  we  not  say  that,  if  it  is  true  that  a  great 
revelation  of  humanity  is  opened  up  before  us  upon 
the  cross,   another   scarcely  less  great  is  unfolded 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  25 

beneath  it?  Here,  side  by  side,  with  the  greatest 
human  phenomenon,  there  is  made  in  it  and  by  it  a 
marvellous  revelation  of  the  nature  of  man. 

We  have  at  present  been  able  to  point  out  this 
truth  only  in  some  of  its  most  general  features.  We 
propose  to  place  ourselves  beneath  the  cross,  and  the 
Revelations  of  the  human  heart  which  we  shall  wit- 
ness there,  will  form  the  subject  of  our  next  medita- 
tions. 

If,  however,  we  have  already  said  enough  to  show 
that  the  appearance  of  Christ  is  a  test  of  the  heart  of 
man,  0 !  then,  let  a  new  spirit  of  love  to  him,  and  at 
the  same  time  to  those  who  believe  on  him,  awake 
within  us ;  for  according  to  the  measure  of  our  love 
to  him  shall  we  be  judged ! 

0  Saviour !  Thou  requirest  to  be  loved  more  than 
father  and  mother,  and  thou  hadst  not  required  this 
if  it  were  not  that  thy  glory,  thy  grace  and  truth 
are  really  worthy  of  such  a  love !  Reveal  then  thy- 
self to  us,  0  adorable  Saviour! — reveal  thyself  in 
thy  matchless  glory  and  beauty,  in  order  that  we 
may  become  strong  to  love  thee  with  that  exalted 
devotedness  which  thou  requirest.  With  love  to  thy 
members  also  do  thou  fill  us  anew.  Yea,  whoever 
in  these  times  confesses  thy  name — whoever  in  love 
and  in  sincere  self-surrender  submits  himself  to  thee 
— shall  be  holy  in  our  eyes  because  thou  art  the 
Only-begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth. 
Amen. 


3* 


26  THE  CROSS  A  REVEALER 


SERMON  II. 


CAIAPHAS  TO  WHAT  A  DEGREE  THE  HUMAN  HEART    MAY   HARDEN 
ITSELF  AGAINST  THE  TRUTH. 

Matthew  xiii.  14,  15. — In  them  is  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Esaias, 
which  saith,  By  hearing  ye  shall  hear,  and  shall  not  understand; 
and  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  notperceiye:  for  this  people's 
heart  is  waxed  gross. 

The  appearance  of  Christ  is  the  test  which  tries  and 
brings  to  light  what  is  in  the  human  heart.  This  is 
a  truth,  as  we  saw  in  our  last  service,  which  holds 
good  of  the  present,  as  well  as  of  every  time.  We 
have  seen,  moreover,  that  this  truth  is  illustrated  in  a 
very  special  way  in  that  portion  of  our  Saviour's  life, 
with  especial  reference  to  which  it  was  spoken  by 
Simeon — I  mean  in  the  history  of  his  passion.  *^  The 
thoughts  of  many  hearts  shall  be  revealed;"  such  were 
the  words  of  Simeon.  And  truly  beneath  the  cross 
the  thoughts  of  many  hearts  were  revealed  then ;  and 
even  there  are  they  now  revealed ;  for  from  the  way 
in  which  a  man  acts  at  the  cross  of  Jesus,  is  best 
known  what  manner  of  man  he  is.  If,  generally, 
Christ  is  the  test  by  which  men  are  proved,  his  cross 
is  so  in  a  very  special  sense,  and  it  is  so  in  more  than 
one  respect.  Let  us  therefore  take  our  stand  this  day 
by  the  cross  of  our  Lord.  True  it  is  the  Advent 
which  we  celebrate  to-day ;  but  one  Christian  festival 
does  not  shut  out  the  rest.  When  those  sad  thoughts 
were  suggested  to  Simeon's  mind,  it  was  the  Child 


OF   THE   HEAKTS   OP   MEN.  27 

Jesus  that  lay  before  him,  and  to  the  Child  Jesus  it 
was  that  he  addressed  the  words,  "Thou  shalt  be  a 
sign  that  shall  be  spoken  against,  that  the  thoughts 
of  many  hearts  may  be  revealed."  And  we  may  fitly 
prepare  ourselves  to  keep  the  day  of  the  birth  of  this 
noble  Guest  of  our  earth,  by  meditating  upon  the  way 
in  which  "his  own"  received  him,  when  he  came 
among  them.  We  shall  stand  by  and  witness  how 
the  human  heart  unveils  and  reveals  itself  beneath  the 
cross  of  Jesus.  0 !  it  is  a  scene  without  a  parallel 
that  is  here  presented  to  us !  As  often  as  we  contem- 
plate anew  those  events,  we  are  compelled  to  acknow- 
ledge that  it  really  is  a  scene  without  any  parallel  in 
the  history  of  the  world!  Look  here,  and  behold 
him — him  who  said:  He  that  has  seen  me  has  seen 
the  invisible  God — as  he  hangs  between  two  malefac- 
tors !  Behold  him  wearing  the  civic  crown,  with  which 
men  requite  his  services  !  And  this  the  reward  of  all 
his  pains !  Beneath  the  cross  the  multitude  rage  like 
the  surging  of  an  angry  sea,  cries  of  passionate  fury 
mingle  with  hellish  laughter.  And  what  men  are 
those  gliding  to  and  fro  among  the  crowd,  so  anxious 
and  busy  about  something,  and  talking  to  the  people 
so  earnestly  ?  Those  are  his  high  priests ! — yes,  His 
JiigJi  priests,  thirsting  for  blood;  and  they  are  per- 
suading the  people  to  cry — Crucify  him  !  crucify  him ! 
They  are  Caiaphas  and  Annas.  We  are  going  to  con- 
sider, in  the  first  instance,  how  the  heart  of  the  ene- 
mies of  Jesus  is  revealed  beneath  the  cross.  Let 
Caiaphas  then  come  before  us,  and  in  him  let  us  see 
an  exemplification  of  the  truth  that,  beneath  the  cross 


28  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

of  Jesus  is  revealed  to  what  an  extent  the  human 
heart  may  harden  itself  against  the  truth.  If  any  of 
you  have  never  seen  a  hardened  human  heart,  behold 
one  here.  Let  us  choose  for  our  text  the  words  of 
Christ  in  which  he  characterizes  this  hardness.  These 
were  spoken,  indeed,  with  reference  to  the  whole  of  the 
people,  but  we  know  that  all  the  accusations  which  could 
be  raised  against  the  people  were  ten  times  more  de- 
served by  its  leaders.  The  hardness  of  the  heart  of 
man  was,  alas,  no  new  thing  in  the  time  of  Jesus :  it 
need  not,  then,  surprise  us,  if  the  Lord  should  make  use 
of  an  ancient  prophetic  word,  applying  it  to  the  people 
of  his  time.  We  read  in  Matthew  xiii.  14,  15:  ^'  In 
them  is  fulfilled  the  prophecy  of  Usaias,  which  saith, 
By  hearing  ye  shall  hear^  and  shall  not  understand; 
and  seeing  ye  shall  see,  and  shall  not  perceive,  for 
this  people  s  heartiswaxed  gross' — ['^is  hardened" 
— German  Translation.] 

We  shall,  in  the  first  place,  endeavour  clearly  to 
understand  what  is  meant  by  the  word  hardness;  we 
shall  then  see  how  this  hardness  displays  itself  in 
Caiaphas;  and,  finally,  we  shall  lay  to  heart  what  we 
may  learn  from  such  a  contemplation. 

The  very  sound  of  the  word  gross,  which  occurs  in 
our  text,  has  something  revolting  in  it ;  it  sounds  so 
hard,  so  impervious ;  and,  indeed,  it  often  is  made  use 
of  in  the  Scriptures  as  of  equal  import  with  the  word 
hardness.  Do  you  know  what  a  heart  which  has 
waxed  gross  is  ?  It  is  a  heart  where  the  life  of  God 
stagnates  and  stops. 

Now  the  life  of  God  may  stagnate  in  a  heart  in  dif- 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  29 

ferent  ways.  It  may  stagnate  because  the  finger  of 
God  has  been  but  feebly  put  forth  to  open  the  chan- 
nels of  that  heart.  Or,  it  may  remain  in  a  state  of 
stagnation,  even  when  the  finger  of  God  is  mightily 
put  forth  upon  it.  Once  more,  it  may  begin  to  flow 
under  the  breath  of  God,  and  after  that  collapse  again 
and  grow  harder  than  before.  Of  this  last  kind  is  the 
hardness  of  the  heart  of  Judas,  which  will  form  the 
subject  of  our  next  discourse.  Of  the  second  kind  is 
the  hardness  of  the  heart  of  Caiaphas,  which  we  shall 
consider  to-day.  We  have  then  to  speak  this  day  of 
that  heart  which  has  waxed  so  gross  that  it  cannot  be 
aroused  any  more,  even  when  the  breath  of  God 
breathes  forth  upon  it ;  so  insensible,  that  it  will  not 
bestir  itself  any  more,  even  when  the  finger  of  God 
touches  it  mightily. 

I  have  already  said  enough  to  make  it  clear  to  you 
that  wherever  there  is  this  insensibility,  this  harden- 
ing of  heart  in  a  man,  it  is  a  sign  that  the  grace  of  God 
is  there,  or  has  been  there.  A  heart  that  does  not 
move,  that  is  not  aroused,  when  God  himself  touches 
it — 0,  what  a  dreadful  thought !  Before  we  proceed 
with  our  meditation,  it  would  be  well  for  us  to  bear  in 
mind,  that  when  we  call  such  a  heart,  a  heart  that  is 
"waxed  gross,"  we  do  not  speak  merely  with  reference 
to  pe'ople  who  are  not  present  in  this  church.  Possibly 
some  one  may  imagine,  that  in  this  case  the  preacher, 
as  so  often  happens,  is  preaching  to  those  who  are  not 
in  the  church,  and  that  he  exposes  their  wickedness — 
why  ?  In  order,  forsooth,  that  we  may  complacently 
soothe  and  cajole  ourselves,  and  say,  T  thank  thee, 


30  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

God,  that  I  am  not  such  an  one  as  those  men !  Away 
with  such  a  thought !  Much  rather  is  it  true  that  the 
preacher  addresses  himself  to  those  who  are  in  the 
church,  even  when  he  appears  to  preach  only  to  those 
that  are  without.  This  is  the  case  when  we  speak  of 
hardness  of  heart.  Will  you  deny  that,  in  some  degree 
at  least,  the  charge  of  having  shut  and  sealed  your 
heart  against  God  may  be  laid  at  your  door  ?  Is  there 
then  among  you  all,  so  much  as  one  who,  when  God 
would  have  touched  his  heart,  has  never  once  refused 
to  be  impressed  ?  0,  Christians !  I  at  least  would  not 
venture  to  answer  yes  in  your  name.  The  words 
against  hardness  of  heart  concern  us  all ;  and  this  will 
be  more  clearly  seen  in  the  sequel.  The  truth  that  it 
is  only  on  the  assumption  that  a  man  has  been  the 
subject  of  the  working  of  divine  grace,  that  he  can 
harden  his  heart,  is  also  expressed  by  our  Lord  in  the 
passage  before  us.  He  says  of  the  people,  that  "  with 
seeing  eyes  they  see  not,  and  with  hearing  ears  they 
hear  not."  See,  he  here  assumes  that  God  has  mani- 
fested to  them  his  grace.  God  has  done  wondrous 
things  before  their  eyes;  they  see  them,  and  yet  they 
see  them  not :  God  speaks  to  them  in  a  voice  of  invita- 
tion and  of  reproof;  they  hear  him,  and  yet  they  hear 
him  not.  Does  this  form  of  expression  surprise  you? 
You  would  expect  to  find  simply — "  They  see  not," 
and  "they  hear  not;"  and  it  runs.  With  seeing  eyes 
they  see  not,  with  hearing  ears  they  hear  not.  By 
this  way  of  putting,  it  is  meant,  that  the  object  to  be 
seen  and  heard  is  brought  within  the  cognizance  of 
eye  and  ear,  and  yet  one  does  not  see  and  hear  them, 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  31 

either  because  he  cannot,  or  because  he  will  not.  In 
the  case  of  the  people  to  whom  Christ  applies  this 
prophetic  word,  the  former  of  these  is  true:  they  do 
not  see  and  hear,  because  they  cannot.  For  of  what 
was  he  speaking.  He  was  speaking  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  kingdom  of  God,  of  which  he  had,  under  the 
veil  of  parables,  discoursed  to  them,  and  they  had  not 
the  capacity  to  understand  their  meaning.  But,  you 
will  say,  if  one  cannot  understand  a  thing,  why  should 
he  on  that  account  be  called  gross  and  hard-hearted  ? 
Now  you  may  be  very  sure,  that  the  Lord  means  to 
say  that  in  their  inability  to  see  and  hear  they  were 
not  innocent.  That  they  have  not  been  concerned 
enough  about  spiritual  things,  that  they  have  not  felt  a 
sufficient  interest  in  the  great  mysteries  of  the  hidden 
life :  this  is  what  he  would  censure.  For  truly,  it  is 
ever  blameworthy  in  a  man  when  he  cannot  understand 
spiritual  things.  And  hence  it  is,  that  even  those  who 
belong  to  the  first  class  of  which  we  spoke,  those  in 
whom  the  life  of  God  has  become  stagnant,  because 
the  finger  of  God  has  been  but  faintly  put  forth  upon 
them,  must  likewise  be  numbered  among  those  whose 
hearts  have  waxed  insensible  and  gross.  What  is 
meant  by  "not  seeing  with  seeing  eyes,'*  is  best 
brought  out  in  the  second  and  third  classes  we  spoke 
of,  in  the  case  of  which  the  objects  come  within  the 
range  of  the  spiritual  ear  and  spiritual  eye,  and  yet 
the  man  will  neither  hear  nor  see  them.  The  sin  of 
hardening  one's  heart  is,  properly  speaking,  a  sin  of 
wilfulness,  not  a  sin  of  weakness.  But  on  this  very 
account,  I  can  conceive  some  of  you  imagining  that 


32  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

"when  I  speak  of  the  hardened,  I  am  preaching  to  those 
who  are  outside  the  church.  For  I  have  no  doubt 
there  are  many  here  who  believe  that  their  hands  are 
clean  of  wilful  sins.  0,  would  it  were  so !  Would 
we  were  all  free  from  "presumptuous  sins,"  as  David 
calls  them,  then  it  were  well  for  us !  Do  not  misun- 
derstand me,  mj  friends.  I  will  not  pronounce  against 
you  and  myself  an  exaggerated,  unjust  accusation.  I 
do  not  think  there  is  so  much  as  one  here  present  who 
would  deliberately  insult  his  conscience;  there  are 
none  here  who,  when  conscience  looks  upon  them  with 
the  flaming  eye  of  a  judge,  would  dare  in  madness  to 
wield  against  her  an  impious  blow.  But  this  were  an 
extreme  case  indeed ;  and  if  we  would  exculpate  our- 
selves of  wilful  sins,  we  must  not  compare  ourselves 
with  the  very  worst  instances  of  such  sins.  What  I 
ask  is  this :  When  it  is  a  question  of  going  out  of  con- 
science's way,  of  throwing  a  cloak  over  its  judging  eye, 
of  quickly  going  to  work  and  committing  the  intended 
sin,  before  conscience  can  step  in  between  us  and  the 
object  of  our  unlawful  desire,  and  let  its  protesting 
voice  be  heard — is  there,  I  ask,  so  much  as  one  here 
present  who  will  venture  to  say,  "That  I  never  did"? 
What !  you  never  sought  to  escape  the  voice  and  eye 
of  conscience,  you  never  silenced  her  warning  voice, 
you  never  threw  a  veil  across  her  dreadful  eye  ?  Ah ! 
it  were  well  with  us  if  none  of  us  had  to  charge  him- 
self with  the  commission  of  known  and  wilful  sins! 
And  then  think  how  many  gradations  there  are 
between  sins  knowingly  committed  and  sins  of  igno- 
rance.    Between  the  extremes  of  warm  and  cold  there 


OF   THE   HEAKTS   OF   MEN.  33 

is  lukewarmness ;  between  knowledge  and  ignorance 
there  is  partial  knowledge,  0  that  the  Lord  may 
help  us  to  attain  that  moral  earnestness  which  pre- 
sents a  strong  and  unyielding  front  to  evil,  even  when 
put  partially  known !  Then  at  least  would  we  be  in 
safety  from  falling  under  the  judgment  of  hardness  of 
heart. 

"Alas  for  him  who  scorns  the  voice  of  love, 
And  lends  his  ear  to  sin ! 
The  gracious  call  of  Heaven  no  more  shall  move 
His  heart — alas  for  him! 

The  still  small  voice  Divine  he  dares  to  spurn 

In  thunder  once  will  sound; 
And  love  contemned  will  once  in  judgment  burn 

His  callous  soul  around!" 

You  see  from  this  view  of  the  power  a  man  has  to 
harden  his  own  heart,  in  what  cases  people  really  are 
their  own  judges.  Deny  the  reality  of  a  day  of  future 
judgment  as  you  may,  blot  out  the  book  of  God's 
remembrance  which  bears  the  record  of  your  guilt, 
and  overturn  the  judgment-seat — all  will  not  avail,  so 
long  as  within  the  breast  of  every  hardened  sinner  he 
himself  keeps  a  dark  register  of  his  guilt — so  long  as 
a  judge  sits  upon  the  throne  of  his  heart  who  pro- 
nounces him  "guilty;" — so  long  as  retributive  justice 
follows  close  upon  his  guilt.  For  every  time  offered 
grace  is  rejected,  its  second  passage  to  the  heart  is 
thereby  rendered  far  more  difficult.  Does  not  the 
man  who,  yesterday  and  to-day,  has  denied  his  con- 
science what  she  ashed,  become  at  length  so  fearfully 
emboldened  that  he  refuses  to  render  her  obedience, 
4 


34  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

even  when  she  commands  and  threatens  ?  Hence  you 
may  understand  how  it  is  that  hardness  comes  not 
unfrequently  to  be  represented  in  the  Bible  as  an  act 
of  God,  as  a  judgment  of  God.  "Whom  he  will  he 
hardeneth,"  we  read.  "He  hath  blinded  their  eyes, 
and  hardened  their  hearts."  Many  honest  persons 
have  been  scandalized  at  such  expressions  as  these. 
Others  have  sought  to  blunt  their  sharp  edge  by  apply- 
ing to  it  the  file  of  a  superficial  exposition,  and  have 
regarded  them  as  merely  Oriental  forms  of  expression, 
destitute  of  all  substance  and  import.  But  0  they 
have  an  import,  an  import  of  deepest  significance. 
For  if  we  know  that  the  judgment  of  hardness  of  heart 
is  not  a  thing  that  comes  by  chance,  but  has  its  prin- 
ciple in  a  divine  law,  in  a  moral  law  of  the  world, 
then  it  may  truly  be  called  a  divine  judgment,  and  we 
may  discern  in  it  the  acting  and  government  of  that 
Divine  Justice  which  rules  the  world.  Still  more 
clearly  may  we  see  the  truth  of  all  this  from  the 
sacred  narrative.  Christ  has  appeared  as  the  test 
whereby  men  are  proved,  and  as  such  he  has  revealed 
of  what  an  amount  of  hardness  of  heart  human  nature 
is  capable.  This  has  been  exhibited  in  the  case  of 
Caiaphas.  Let  us  see  how  God  bears  testimony  of 
himself  to  him,  and  how  he  hardens  himself  against 
God.  When  a  heart  becomes  hard,  the  grace  of  God 
must  have  been  at  work  in  that  heart,  the  finger  of 
God  must  have  been  put  forth  to  touch  it.  God  had 
touched  the  heart  of  Caiaphas.  For  Caiaphas  was  an 
Israelite,  more  than  this,  he  was  high-priest ;  Caiaphas 
had  seen  the  miracles  of  Christ,,  he  had  seen  the  Son 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  35 

of  God  upon  the  cross.  Thus,  and  in  so  many  ways, 
"was  the  hand  of  God  stretched  out  towards  Caiaphas. 
He  was  an  Israelite,  and  thus  one  of  the  nation  to 
which  a  Saviour  had  been  promised.  How  diligently 
he  must  have  searched  in  the  writings  of  the  prophets ! 
How  enraptured  must  he  then  have  been,  when,  after 
a  lapse  of  four  hundred  years,  a  new  prophet  arose  in 
John  the  Baptist,  and  he  heard  him  say  of  the  pro- 
mised of  Israel,  ''He  standeth  among  you !"  0 !  what 
a  feeling  must  it  have  been  for  every  true  Israelite 
when  it  was  said  of  Him  for  whom,  from  the  beginning 
of  time,  men  had  longed  and  waited,  "He  standeth 
among  you,''  And  when  the  last  of  the  prophets  held 
up  his  finger,  and  pointing  to  a  certain  Man  amid  the 
crowd,  said,  "Behold  the  Lamb  of  God  that  taketh 
away  the  sin  of  the  world,"  what  emotions  must  then 
have  filled  the  breast  of  Caiaphas !  True,  it  was  no 
easy  thing  for  him  to  recognize  in  Christ  the  Messias 
of  whom  the  prophets  had  spoken.  The  prophets 
speak  of  him  in  most  places,  though  not  in  all,  as  an 
earthly  king,  and  dwell  upon  a  kingdom  of  the  Messiah 
in  glory ;  and  then  again  speak  of  his  appearing  as  a 
teacher  or  as  a  sufiering  servant,  without  in  general 
making  any  interval  elapse  between  these  two  appear- 
ances. This  makes  their  prophecy  more  obscure ;  and 
the  darker  the  prophecy,  so  much  the  harder  it  is  to 
believe.  Caiaphas,  this  may  excuse  thee,  but  does  it 
exculpate  thee  altogether  ?  No,  it  cannot  altogether 
clear  thee.  And  why  ?  Let  me  put  the  case  thus : 
What  would  Caiaphas  answer,  if  he  stood  before  us 
now  and  were  asked,  whether  it  was  easier  for  the 


86  THE   CROSS   A   EEVEALER 

learned  or  for  the  unlearned  of  those  days  to  recognize 
in  Jesus  the  Messias  of  prophecy?  Caiaphas,  what- 
ever answer  thou  dost  make  can  but  prove  that  thou 
wast  guilty.  Dost  thou  answer  that  it  was  easier  for 
the  unlearned  ?  Well,  the  first  chapter  of  John  shows 
how  they  ran  one  to  another  exclaiming,  "We  have 
found  the  Messias."  Or  was  it  easier  for  the  learned? 
Well,  surely  Nicodemus  was  one  of  them — he  is  called 
"a  master  in  Israel;"  and  if  Nicodemus  could  recog- 
nize beneath  that  humble  garb  the  King  of  Heaven, 
why  couldst  not  thou?  Therefore  on  the  last  day 
will  Nicodemus  be  thy  judge.  Thus  as  an  Israelite 
the  hand  of  God  was  stretched  out  towards  Caiaphas. 
But  more  than  this,  Caiaphas  was  the  high-priest. 
Israel  is  a  priestly  nation ;  the  priesthood  of  Israel  is 
her  flower  and  crown,  and  the  head  of  that  priesthood 
is  the  high-priest.  Surely  then  the  sparks  of  longing 
for  the  coming  Messiah,  scattered  among  the  whole 
people,  must  have  concentrated  in  his  breast,  and 
burned  there  in  an  ardent  flame !  What  hopes,  what 
desires  must  have  been  called  forth  as  he  daily  handled 
the  sacred  symbols  of  the  temple  !  0  Caiaphas,  when 
day  after  day  thou  didst  see  the  priests  approach  the 
altars  with  their  sacrifices;  when,  once  every  year, 
anew  thou  didst  enter  the  Holy  of  Holies,  with  the 
sacrifice  of  propitiation  for  the  whole  people;  is  it 
possible  that  thou  never  didst  feel  within  thee  a  strong 
longing  for  a  Redeemer  who  should  cause  that  endless 
series  of  ofi"erings  to  cease — who  should  make  atone- 
ment for  the  sins  of  his  people  to  all  eternity?  Per- 
haps he  never  felt  such  longings.     Well !  in  the  case 


OF   THE   HEAETS   OF   MEN.  37 

of  some,  Christ  comes  to  meet  half-way  longings  which 
already  exist  in  the  breast;  in  the  case  of  others,  he 
calls  them  forth  for  the  first  time  by  his  appearance 
itself,  and  then  these  longings  are  satisfied  as  soon  as 
they  arise — but  such  cases  are  rare  and  exceptional. 

And  now  the  Son  of  God  was  made  manifest,  full 
of  grace  and  truth !  A  voice  exclaimed  in  Galilee, 
"To  whom  shall  we  go  but  unto  Thee?  Thou  hast 
the  words  of  eternal  life."  In  Jerusalem  another 
voice  was  heard — it  was  that  of  the  aged  Nicodemus 
— "Master,  thou  art  a  teacher  come  from  God." 
As  he  entered  into  the  city,  the  little  children  cried, 
"Hosanna  to  the  Son  of  David!"  Eut  neither  the 
voices  of  the  aged,  nor  the  cries  of  the  children,  could 
reach  the  heart  of  Caiaphas.  "  They  have  ears  and 
hear  not''  A  man  is  brought  before  the  High  Coun- 
cil in  Jerusalem,  where  Caiaphas  as  high-priest  pre- 
sides. This  man  is  known  in  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood as  one  blind  from  his  youth.  He  has  recovered 
his  sight  by  a  miracle  performed  by  Jesus,  and  now 
he  is  brought  before  the  Council  in  order  to  be  exa- 
mined. But  it  turns  out  here,  as  in  the  case  of  many 
another  examination  of  evidence,  that  the  mind  of  the 
examiners  is  made  up  before  they  have  even  begun 
their  questioning;  the  evidence  is  therefore  of  no 
avail.  The  blind  man  gives  his  testimony  to  the  fact 
in  question,  so  do  his  parents;  but  the  answer  is: 
"We  know  that  God  spake  by  Moses,  but  as  for  this 
fellow,  we  know  not  from  whence  he  is."  "  They 
have  eyes  and  see  not,'" 

The  final  catastrophe  is  drawing   nigh.     Lazarus 

4* 


38  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

has  risen  from  the  dead ;  the  people  in  Jerusalem  are 
in  a  state  of  great  agitation;  once  more  the  High 
Council  has  met.  "This  man  doth  many  miracles," 
is  the  testimony  given  by  those  enemies  of  Christ. 
They  can  now  explain  away  his  miracles  no  longer. 
There  they  are,  in  stern,  incontestable  reality,  and 
they  come  with  power  upon  their  conscience.  Some 
vacillation  is  perceptible  among  the  members  of  that 
council,  and  indeed  two  of  them,  as  we  know — Nico- 
demus,  and  Joseph  of  Arimathea — are  decided  friends 
of  Jesus.  Once  more  the  conscience  of  Caiaphas  lifts 
up  its  voice  within  him.  But  to  no  purpose.  They 
have  ears  and  hear  not.  So  far  from  listening  to  the 
internal  monitor,  he  appears  rather  to  fear  lest  the 
aroused  consciences  of  the  others  should  carry  his 
away  too.  "Ye  know  nothing  at  all,"  he  says,  "nor 
consider  that  it  is  expedient  for  us  that  one  man 
should  die  for  the  people,  and  that  the  whole  nation 
perish  not"  (or,  "rather  than  that  disturbances  should 
arise.")  0  counsel  of  Hell!  Judas  would  be  regard- 
ed as  a  friend  of  the  poor,  when  he  was  all  the  while 
stealing  from  the  bag ;  and  Caiaphas  would  be  looked 
upon  as  the  father  of  his  country  when  he  condemns 
to  death  the  Saviour.  This  is  the  cunning  of  the 
Devil,  if  a  man  but  once  begin  to  look  about  for  rea- 
sons when  conscience  speaks  to  him,  instead  of  at 
once  obeying  its  voice ;  reasons  indeed  why  he  should 
disobey  it ! 

One  final  probation  awaits  him.  He  has  hardened 
himself  in  the  sight  of  the  living  Jesus — will  his  heart 
not  soften  when  he  sees  that  Jesus  in  death?    He  has 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF    MEN.  39 

hardened  himself  against  the  living  Jesus,  even  in 
that  last  momentous  interview,  when  He  was  brought 
before  him  to  be  judged.  The  high-priest  had,  as 
judge,  addressed  to  Him  the  solemn  question:  "I 
adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whe- 
ther thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God;"  and  He 
whom  he  judged  stood  there,  and,  with  all  the  ma- 
jesty of  an  offended  king,  replied:  "Thou  hast  said. 
From  this  time  forward  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  God 
sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the 
clouds  of  heaven."  But  Caiaphas  saw  and  heard 
Jesus  then,  as  he  had  heard  and  seen  him  before, 
unsoftened,  unmoved.  Well,  he  has  stood  that  sight, 
but  will  he  hold  out  against  the  look  of  that  royal 
head,  when,  crowned  with  thorns  and  streaming  with 
blood,  it  is  turned  upon  him  ?  Judas  could  not  stand 
that  sight — even  he  could  not  bring  himself  to  that. 
Pilate  himself  was  overpowered  by  the  wonderful 
majesty  of  his  appearance ;  and  the  Evangelist  records 
that,  when  Jesus  came  forth  wearing  the  crown  of 
thorns  and  the  purple  robe,  he  exclaimed,  "Behold 
the  man!"  The  people,  too,  are  overwhelmed  by  the 
sight,  and  when  Pilate  gives  them  the  choice  between 
Jesus  and  Barabbas,  a  certain  vacillation  is  observed 
among  them  (Mark  xv.  11.)  But  Caiaphas  was  firm. 
0!  he  was  a  strong  man,  this  Caiaphas!  He  well 
knew  the  art — the  subtlest  that  there  is  out  of  hell — of 
mingling  a  sleeping-draught  for  his  conscience.  But 
it  was  not  only  his  own  conscience  that  he  put  to 
sleep,  but  also  that  of  the  people :  do  we  not  read  that 
the  chief  priests  moved  the  people  that  he  should 


40  THE   CROSS  A   REVEALER 

rather  release  Barabbas  unto  them?  Was  I  not  then 
right,  when  I  said  that  beneath  the  cross  is  truly- 
manifested  to  what  a  degree  the  human  heart  may 
harden  itself  against  the  truth  ? 

If  jou  ever  wished  to  see  an  instance  how  what  is 
esteemed  of  men  may  be  an  abomination  in  the  eyes 
of  God,  and  again,  how  that  may  be  highly  esteemed 
by  God  which  is  abhorred  of  men,  look  at  the  cross, 
and  you  will  see  one  there.  What  a  strange  contrast 
is  there  presented.  Beneath,  the  high-priest  stands, 
exclaiming:  "He  saved  others,  himself  he  cannot 
save.  Let  Christ  the  King  of  Israel  descend  now 
from  the  cross  that  we  may  see  and  believe;"  and 
upon  the  cross  there  hangs  a  guilty  criminal,  who  yet 
recognizes  in  him  who  is  crucified  beside  him  the 
opener  of  the  gates  of  Paradise,  and  cries:  "Lord, 
remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom." 

But  I  have  not  yet  completed  my  picture.  After 
the  history  of  the  Passion  follows  that  of  the  Resur- 
rection, and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  succeed  the 
Evangelistic  narrative.  Let  us  then  see  if  in  the  sub- 
sequent history  we  shall  not  find  something  more  of 
Caiaphas.  It  must  indeed  have  been  a  great  relief 
for  the  rulers  of  the  people,  when  at  length  Jesus  was 
laid  in  the  quiet  grave.  They  must  have  felt  as  one 
does  when  some  difficult  and  dangerous  enterprise  has 
been  conducted  to  a  successful  issue.  About  the 
grave,  too,  everything  was  still.  They  were  not, 
indeed,  exempted  from  all  further  concern  in  the 
matter:  and  from  one  quarter  their  victory  might  be 
endangered.     They   remembered,   as   we   read,  that 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  41 

"  this  deceiver  had  said :  After  three  days  I  will  rise 
again."  But  an  infallible  means  is  at  hand  of  provi- 
ding against  such  a  catastrophe;  the  grave  is  secured 
by  a  guard:  and  now  they  are  perfectly  at  ease. 
Who  can,  therefore,  imagine  the  magnitude  of  their 
horror,  when  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day  the 
watchmen  appeared,  and  with  their  own  mouth  ad- 
dressed to  the  high-priests  the  first  Easter  sermon? 
If  in  all  the  events  which  had  preceded  this  one,  the 
conscience  of  Caiaphas  had  been  unmoved,  surely  now 
at  least  he  must  have  felt  some  emotion.  "What!" 
— we  may  suppose  the  internal  voice  to  have  whis- 
pered the  suggestion — "what!  can  it  be  that  that. 
Jesus  is  not  after  all — 0,  resist  not — stay,  desist!" 
**Be  still,  thou  coward  conscience,  how  thou  dost  dis- 
turb me!  Shall  I  fear  thee?  Be  still!"— And  thus 
once  more  was  the  Divine  monitor  within  put  to 
silence.  The  watch,  we  read,  received  money,  and 
were  told  to  give  out  that  the  disciples  had  came  by 
night  and  stolen  away  the  body. 

Even  this  was  not  the  last  occasion  on  which  the 
hand  of  God  was  stretched  out  towards  Caiaphas.  If 
we  turn  to  the  fourth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apos- 
tles, we  shall  find  another  meeting  of  the  Council 
assembled  some  ten  weeks  later  at  Jerusalem,  and 
again  this  same  high-priest  presides.  Before  them 
stands  one  well-known  as  a  lame  man  to  all  those  who 
went  to  the  temple,  whom  the  two  apostles  have  cured 
of  his  lameness.  Peter  stands  before  the  court,  and 
thus  he  speaks :  "Be  it  known  unto  you  all,  and  to  all 
the  people  of  Israel,  that  by  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ 


42  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

of  Nazareth,  whom  ye  crucified,  whom  God  raised 
from  the  dead,  even  by  him,  doth  this  man  stand 
before  you,  whole!"  And  Caiaphas  must  hear  all 
this !  And  if  he  was  able  to  deny  to  his  conscience 
the  earthquake  and  the  broken  seals,  and  the  grave- 
stone rolled  away,  there  is  one  thing  at  least  which  he 
cannot  deny;  he  cannot  gainsay  the  fact  that,  if  the 
Crucified  is  not  risen  indeed,  he  is  certainly  risen  and 
lives  again  in  the  spirit  of  these  his  disciples,  those 
men  who,  so  shortly  before,  stood  trembling  and 
silent  by  the  cross,  and  who  now  in  the  name  of  this 
same  Jesus  call  to  the  lame  man  to  "arise  and  walk!" 
No,  this  he  cannot  deny.  So  what  does  he  do  ?  He 
condemns  the  disciples  "not  to  speak  at  all,  nor 
preach  in  the  name  of  Jesus."  Is  not  this,  in  deed 
and  in  truth,  "having  eyes  and  seeing  not?"  Where 
then,  I  ask,  has  it  ever  been  discovered  to  such  an 
extent  as  in  this  narrative,  that  the  heart  of  man  can 
harden  itself  against  self-evident  truth  ? 

And  wherefore  have  we  opened  up  this  history 
together  ?  Is  it  in  order  that  we  may  go  away  full  of 
self-satisfaction,  saying:  "I  thank  thee,  God,  that  I 
am  not  such  a  man  as  Caiaphas?"  That  were  a  poor 
lesson  indeed !  The  first  thing  which  we  have  to  think 
of  in  contemplating  this  narrative  is  this:  Caiaphas 
was  a  man,  and  the  humanity  that  dwelt  in  his  breast 
was  the  same  that  dwells  in  mine.  One  of  the  ancients 
has  said:  "I  am  a  man;  and  nothing  human  is  alien 
to  me."  A  profound  saying,  and  one  capable  of  being 
applied  in  many  ways.  Thus,  I  am  a  man,  and  in 
every  man  I  see  my  own  flesh  and  blood,  and  that 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  43 

which  I  would  that  they  should  do  unto  me,  I  shall  do 
to  them.  But  the  saying  may  be  taken  in  another 
sense:  I  am  a  man,  and,  therefore,  nothing  that  at 
any  time  men  have  done,  is  alien  to  my  humanity. 
First,  then,  what  I  would  seek  to  impress  upon  your 
heart  and  upon  my  own,  is,  that  we  should  bear  in 
mind  what  is  the  only  right  way  in  which  we  may 
speak  of  the  sins  of  other  men.  And  that  is,  without 
ever  forgetting  that  their  sins  dwell  also  in  our  own 
nature.  Let  no  man  undertake  to  sit  in  judgment, 
or  to  pronounce  upon  the  sins  of  the  ungodly,  without 
at  the  same  time  judging  the  sins  of  his  own  breast. 
We  dare  not  condemn  even  the  hard-heartedness  of  a 
Gaiaphas,  unless  we  also  condemn  the  daily-exhibited 
tendency  of  our  own  hearts  to  harden  themselves 
against  the  truth.  Further,  my  brethren,  the  exam- 
ple of  Caiaphas  shows  us  in  a  very  peculiar  way  that 
it  is  possible  for  God  to  seek  to  gain  a  heart  by  a 
thousand  signs  and  attestations  of  grace,  and  yet  all 
in  vain.  Is  not  this  an  important  lesson  for  these 
times  of  ours,  when  so  many  think,  that  unless  signs 
and  wonders  again  take  place,  men  will  not  be  held 
accountable  for  their  unbelief?  Should  not  the  case 
of  Caiaphas  teach  us  that  the  unbelief  of  our  times 
does  nowise  arise  from  God  doing  too  little  ?  Think 
you  that  men  would  believe  now^  any  more  than  they 
did  in  his  days,  even  if  the  signs  and  wonders  which 
he  witnessed  were  repeated  before  our  eyes  ?  Let  the 
heavens  once  more  open,  let  the  Son  of  God  once 
more  come  down,  full  of  grace  and  truth ;  let  the  cross 
of  Calvary  rise  anew,  let  a  second  Easter  morn  dawn 


44  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

upon  the  world ! — But  all  this  occurred  eighteen  centu- 
ries ago,  all  this  Caiaphas  saw,  and  yet  he  believed 
not:  and  think  you  that  human  nature  is  different 
now  from  what  it  was  then  ?  0,  it  is  the  very  nature 
of  that  spiritual  insensibility  of  which  we  speak  that, 
with  eyes  to  see,  it  is,  notwithstanding,  blind.  Let 
us  then  acknowledge  what  a  fearful  state  this  spiritual 
insensibility  is,  and  if  we  acknowledge  how  fearful  a 
state  it  is,  we  will  surely  not  leave  this  sacred  house 
without  renewing  our  determination  to  regard  the 
voice  of  conscience  as  something  holy,  and  to  flee  even 
from  that  which  we  do  but  partially  know  to  be  evil. 
For  this  insensibility  does  not  come  all  at  once :  a  man 
begins  by  shutting  his  eyes  to  truth  only  half-recof- 
nized,  and  he  ends  by  openly  insulting  truth  which  he 
fully  knows. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord,  it  is  the  time  of  Advent. 
This  meditation  is  also  well  suited  for  Advent.  If  we 
wish  Christ  to  come  to  us  we  must  fulfil  the  conditions 
under  which  alone  he  can  come.  Now,  his  own  words 
teach  us  that  among  those  conditions,  one  of  the  very 
first  is,  sincerity  and  faithfulness  towards  the  inward 
voice,  and  a  tender  conscience.  "If  any  man,"  he 
says,  "will  do  the  will  of  him  that  sent  me,  he  shall 
know  of  the  doctrine  whether  it  be  of  God."  When 
Christ  says,  "Whosoever  learneth  of  the  Father, 
cometh  to  me,"  and  again,  "No  man  can  come  to  me, 
except  the  Father,  which  hath  sent  me,  draw  him," 
he  means  by  this  nothing  else  but  the  voice  of  con- 
science, for  by  it  the  Heavenly  Father  teaches  us  that 
this  is  the  Lamb  of  God,  which  taketh  away  the  sins 


OF  THE  HEARTS   OF   MEN.  45 

of  the  world.  May  the  tenderness  of  conscience 
which  makes  us  sinners  in  our  own  eyes,  make  us  also 
men  such  as  know  no  more  blessed  joy  than  the  joys 
of  Christmas  when  to  us  a  Saviour  is  born !  0  Father, 
teach  thou  us,  draw  thou  us,  help  thou  us.     Amen, 


SERMON  III. 

THE  HISTORY  OP  OUR  SAVIOUR's  PASSION  MAKES  MANIFEST  IN" 
JUDAS  TO  WHAT  A  DEGREE  THE  HUMAN  HEART  MAY  HARDEN 
ITSELF  AGAINST  THE  TRUTH,  AFTER  HATING  KNOWN  THE  WAY  OP 
RIGHTEOUSNESS. 

2  Peter  ii.  20,  21. — For  if  after  they  have  escaped  the  pollutions  of 
the  world,  through  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ,  they  are  again  entangled  therein,  and  overcome,  the  latter 
end  is  worse  with  them  than  the  beginning.  For  it  had  been  better 
for  them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than,  after 
they  have  known  it,  to  turn  from  the  holy  commandment  delivered 
unto  them. 

We  have  placed  ourselves  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  in 
order  that  we  might  there  see  how  the  appearance  of 
Christ  in  the  world  makes  manifest  what  is  in  the 
heart  of  man.  Caiaphas  was  the  first  to  meet  us  there. 
In  him  we  saw  an  instance  of  the  extent  to  which  the 
human  heart  can  harden  itself  against  the  truth  of 
God.  Those  of  you  who  followed  our  meditation  must 
have  been  deeply  struck  with  the  disclosures  of  the 
heart  which  that  history  makes.  You  have  turned  your 
eye  inward  upon  yourselves  too,  and  have  said  with 
5 


46  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

alarm:  It  was  a  human  heart  which  thus  hardened 
itself,  and  I  participate  in  a  like  human  nature,  the 
seed  of  that  very  sin  dwells  in  me !  And  these  are,  in 
truth,  the  feelings  which  such  a  contemplation  should 
call  forth.  I  already  mentioned,  that  in  the  history 
of  the  Passion  a  second  instance  of  hardness  of  heart 
comes  before  us,  and  to  this  we  shall  to-day  direct  our 
attention.  That  second  instance  is  presented  to  us  in 
Judas  Iscariot.  Hardness  of  heart  is,  then,  where  the 
life  of  God  stagnates  in  the  heart.  This  may  be  in 
one  of  two  ways.  The  finger  of  God  may  be  put 
forth  to  touch  the  heart  of  man,  and  yet  that  heart 
may  remain  unmoved:  that  was  the  case  with  Caia- 
phas.  Again,  the  finger  of  God  is  put  forth  upon  the 
heart  of  a  man ;  that  heart  moves  beneath  its  touch, 
begins  to  beat ;  but  alas,  it  is  only  to  collapse  more 
hopelessly,  and  become  more  fatally  hardened  and 
insensible  than  before :  this  was  the  case  with  Judas. 

You  will  find  the  passage  of  Scripture  which  we 
shall  make  the  basis  of  this  meditation,  in  2  Peter  ii. 
20,  21 :  "  For  if  after  they  have  escaped  the  pollutions 
of  the  world,  through  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  and 
Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  they  are  again  entangled 
therein,  and  overcome,  the  latter  end  is  worse  with 
them  than  the  beginning.  For  it  had  been  better  for 
them  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  righteousness, 
than,  after  they  have  known  it,  to  turn  from  the  holy 
commandment  delivered  unto  them.'^ 

I  might  have  chosen  a  saying  of  our  Lord  as  the 
text  of  this  discourse,  one  to  which  these  apostolic 
words  do  also  appear  to  refer.     You  remember  the 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  47 

words  of  our  Lord:  "When  the  unclean  spirit  is  gone 
out  of  a  man,  he  walketh  through  dry  places  seeking 
rest,  and  finding  none.  Then  he  saith,  I  will  return 
unto  my  house;  and  when  he  is  come  he  findeth  it 
swept  and  garnished;  then  he  goeth  and  taketh  to 
himself  seven  other  spirits ;  and  the  last  state  of  that 
man  is  worse  than  the  first."  The  thought  is  the 
same,  only  the  Apostle  expresses  it  without  a  figure, 
and  therefore  more  intelligibly.  I  might  also  refer  you 
for  expressions  of  the  same  truth  to  the  sayings  of 
daily  life.  Do  we  not  say,  "  No  stronger  hate  than 
after  strong  love,"  and  many  similar  sayings.  Thus 
does  common  experience  harmonize  with  the  experience 
of  the  kingdom  of  God.  "It  had  been  better  not  to 
have  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than,  after  hav- 
ing known  it,  to  turn  from  the  holy  commandment." 

Let  us  first  inquire  why  this  is  so,  and  then  show, 
from  the  example  of  Judas,  that  it  is  so.  We  shall  be 
sensible  this  day  to  what  an  extent  a  heart  which  has 
already  tasted  of  the  truth,  which  has  already  walked 
in  the  way  of  righteousness,  is  capable  of  becoming 
hardened ;  and  in  the  contemplation  every  man  must 
lay  it  seriously  to  heart,  because  we  are  human,  and 
the  human  heart  is  radically  the  same  in  all.  There 
is  not  one  of  us  who  has  not  cause  with  David  to  con- 
fess before  God:  "Behold,  I  was  shapen  in  iniquity, 
and  in  sin  did  my  mother  conceive  me." 

Why  is  it  so?  Why  is  it  better  never  to  have 
known  the  way  of  righteousness,  than,  after  having 
known  it,  to  turn  from  it?  First  on  this  account, 
because  it  is  a  baser  outrage  against  a  man's  con- 


48  THE   CROSS  A   REVEALER 

science  to  fall  away  from  truth  which  has  once  "been 
known,  than  to  refuse  to  know  it;  and  further, 
because  the  baser  this  outrage  against  conscience,  the 
heavier  will  be  the  judgments  of  Grod  which  shall 
overtake  it.  What  we  have  seen  in  the  case  of  Caia- 
phas  was  surely  a  most  base  outrage  against  con- 
science. When  God  comes  so  very  near  a  man,  when 
he  daily  does  signs  and  wonders  before  his  face,  and 
yet  with  eyes  to  see  he  does  not  see  him,  with  ears  to 
hear  he  does  not  hear  his  voice,  surely  this  is  to  offer 
a  grievous  insult  to  the  grace  of  God,  surely  this  is 
most  basely  to  outrage  one's  conscience.  Neverthe- 
less, a  carnal-minded  man  like  that  regards  the  truth 
as  a  hostile,  unwarranted  power,  which  begins  to  wage 
war  with  him,  and  against  which  he  must  defend  him- 
self. Of  such  a  profane  man,  one  may  say  that  he  is 
in  a  state  of  warfare  against  the  truth,  but  one  can 
scarcely  call  him  a  rebel  against  her  authority.  Now, 
whether  is  the  greater  transgressor  against  the  king 
of  a  country — the  open  enemy  without  the  frontiers, 
or  the  rebellious  subject  within  the  gates?  And  such 
is  the  difference  between  those  who  have  not  yet 
known  the  truth,  and  those  who,  after  having  known 
it,  have  turned  their  back  upon  it :  such  is  the  differ- 
ence between  a  Caiaphas  and  a  Judas.  Caiaphas  was 
a  foe :  Judas  was  a  rebel.  Doubtless  it  is  dreadful  to 
think  that  a  man  made  by  God  should  acknowledge  in 
that  God  no  sovereign  rights  over  him.  But  there 
may  be  something  even  worse.  To  have  at  one  time 
owned  those  rights ;  to  have  had  times  when  one  could 
say,  "Thou,  and  thou  only,  art  my  King  and  my 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.   .  49 

God;"  to  have  had  seasons  in  which  one  had  upon  his 
knees  before  God  sworn  to  him  the  oath  of  homage : 
and  after  all  this  to  have  turned  one's  back  upon  him, 
and  forsaken  the  way  of  righteousness,  0 !  this  is  the 
most  dreadful  thing  that  can  happen  upon  earth. 
When  in  the  parable  the  Lord  speaks  as  judge  to  his 
servant,  and  says,  "  Out  of  thine  own  mouth  will  I  judge 
thee,  thou  wicked  servant,"  we  think  how  deep  a  sense 
of  shame  must  have  overwhelmed  that  servant.  And 
thus  in  the  judgment  of  God  shall  all  those  wicked  ser- 
vants be  dealt  with  who,  after  having  known  the  way 
of  righteousness,  turn  their  back  upon  it. 

You  will  be  in  a  position  to  see  more  clearly  how  it 
must  be  so,  when  you  have  considered  the  consequences 
which  follow  such  a  course.  I  said  that  the  baser  the 
outrage  done  to  the  conscience^  so  much  the  more 
grievous  will  he  the  judgments  of  Grod  which  overtake 
it.  And,  first,  I  call  upon  you  not  to  deceive  your- 
selves by  imagining  that  there  can  be  any  other  alter- 
native with  regard  to  the  sins  of  men  but  this :  either 
they  are  pardoned  in  time,  or  they  will  be  punished  in 
eternity.  Pardon  in  time,  or  punishment  in  eternity; 
and  the  measure  of  the  punishment  of  unpardoned  sins 
will  be  according  to  the  degree  of  their  guilt.  God 
is  righteous,  and  his  righteousness  is  manifest  here. 
There  is,  I  am  persuaded,  no  one  here  present  who  has 
dealt  with  himself  with  but  moral  earnestness,  who 
cannot  give  his  own  experimental  testimony  to  what 
a  blighting,  withering  influence  a  deviation  from  prin- 
ciples which  one  holds  sacred  exercises  upon  the  whole 
inner  man.  A  breath  of  fire  seems  to  go  forth  from 
5* 


60  .     THE   CROSS  A  REVEALBR 

the  evil  word  or  deed,  which  makes  all  the  leaves  and 
blossoms  of  the  soul  parched  and  withered.  As  soon 
as  the  word  spoken  in  violation  of  better  knowledge 
has  crossed  the  lips,  as  soon  as  the  unrighteous  deed 
has  been  committed,  a  feeling  of  numbness  comes  over 
all  the  soul :  all  one's  strength  is  lost,  all  one's  spirit 
is  gone,  and  the  man  stands  there  as  if  he  was  struck 
from  head  to  foot  with  a  sort  of  spiritual  paralysis. 
It  is  as  if  one  were  precipitated  from  the  top  of  a 
mountain  into  the  valley  below ;  and  at  first  one  sees 
no  possibility  of  ever  being  able  to  regain  the  summit 
from  which  he  fell.  This  is  the  case  even  when  but 
one  deviation  from  the  way  of  truth  is  perpetrated. 
And  if  such  is  one's  experience,  when  but  once  a  man 
has  proved  traitor  to  his  conscience,  has  but  once 
swerved  from  the  right  path,  think  what  it  must  be  in 
the  case  of  him  who  altogether  turned  his  back  upon 
the  well-known  ways  of  righteousness.  That  there  are 
apostates  in  this  church  is  more  than  I  am  warranted 
to  believe.  But  there  may  be  some  among  you  who 
were  once  in  earnest  about  Christianity ;  and  there  are 
certainly  those  who,  at  one  time,  sought  to  act  towards 
themselves  with  conscientious  strictness,  but  who  have 
again  lost  hold  of  themselves,  and  who  now,  as  before, 
"wander  round,  caught  by  earth's  shadows  as  they 
fleet,"  or  float  in  giddy  thoughtlessness  upon  the  glit- 
tering waves  of  worldly  pleasures.  My  friends,  the 
pangs  you  feel  are  far  from  being  those  of  the  men 
who  have  utterly  fallen  away,  and  yet  how  grievously 
does  your  conscience  oppress  you !  How  does  all  con- 
fidence in  yourselves  fail  you  now,  how  does  all  con- 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  51 

fidence  fail  you  in  your  God !  What  a  thorn  you  bear 
in  your  heart,  which  pains  you,  perhaps  not  keenly, 
but  continually,  like  a  gnawing  worm !  Have  you  not, 
in  the  internal  agony  of  the  conflict  between  your 
better  knowledge  and  an  evil  action,  sometimes  felt  as 
if  you  could  have  wished  in  your  despair  rather  never 
to  have  known  the  way  of  righteousness  ?  Ay,  and  it 
has  sometimes  happened — and  this  belongs  to  the  most 
fearful  passages  in  the  history  of  the  human  heart — it 
has  happened,  that  in  order  to  escape  the  sting  of 
being  half  in  bondage  to  sin,  men  have  surrendered 
themselves  wholly  to  its  power.  Because  their  double 
service  of  God  and  the  devil  left  them  no  rest,  they 
gave  themselves  up  wholly  to  the  devil.  0,  would 
they  had  rather  given  themselves  wholly  to  God !  But 
alas,  they  could  do  this  no  longer,  and  why  ?  Because 
they  could  not  believe  any  more.  I  wish  to  speak 
more  particularly  of  this  judgment  of  hardening  of 
the  heart,  because  it  is  the  one  which  comes  more  pro- 
minently before  us  in  the  case  of  Judas.  The  man 
who  turns  his  back  upon  the  known  ways  of  righteous- 
ness, loses,  according  to  the  degree  in  which  he  does 
so,  the  power  to  believe,  and  therewith  the  power  to 
return  to  those  ways.  He  who  never  has  been  born 
again,  thinks  that  to  believe  on  a  God  of  grace  is  a 
very  easy  matter  indeed :  he  does  not  know  what  sin 
is,  and  hence  he  cannot  understand  what  grace  is. 
But  after  a  man  has  come  to  know  what  is  meant  by 
sin,  and  what  is  implied  in  grace,  how  hard  does  it 
become  for  him,  after  some  act  of  great  unfaithfulness, 
to  find  again  strength  to  believe !    Thus,  when  it  does 


52  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

occur  that  Christians,  who  have  been  once  enlightened, 
and  have  once  tasted  "the  good  word  of  God,  and  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  conie,"  that  even  thej  fall  away 
into  carnal  sin,  or  any  other  heinous  transgression,  at 
no  time  in  such  a  case  is  the  danger  of  total  apostasy 
far  distant.  And  why  ?  Because  they  thus  lose  the 
power  to  believe. 

What  a  fearful  instance  of  this  does  the  fall  of 
David  present.  If  we  examine  carefully  the  different 
intimations  of  Scripture  in  that  history,  we  shall  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  his  condition  after  his  fall  must 
have  resembled  one  of  profound  stupor.  He  was  as  a 
man  who  has  fallen  from  some  high  elevation,  and  who 
knows  not  what  has  happened  to  him,  far  less  how  he 
shall  ever  regain  the  height  from  which  he  fell.  David 
then  appears  to  collect  himself;  he  begins  to  under- 
stand his  position.  But,  alas !  the  way  to  his  God  is 
now  shut  against  him — that  way  he  once  knew  so  well. 
Conscience,  as  an  insurmountable  barrier,  opposes 
itself  to  him,  arising  like  an  inexorable  partition-wall 
between  him  and  his  God.  He  dare  not  now  draw 
near  to  him ;  and  one  long,  weary  year  has  passed  ere 
the  words  of  Nathan  at  length  bring  light  across  this 
deep  night  of  darkness.  Hear  how  he  describes  the 
sorrow  which  consumed  his  soul:  "When  I  kept 
silence,  my  bones  waxed  old  through  my  roaring  all 
the  day  long.  For  day  and  night  Thy  hand  was 
heavy  upon  me :  my  moisture  is  turned  into  the 
drought  of  summer."  0  awake,  ye  careless  Chris- 
tians !  awake  to  a  consciousness  of  the  reality  of  the 
judgment  of  God !     He  who  does  not  persevere  in  the 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  53 

"way  of  righteousness  so  long  as  he  can,  can  at  last  no 
longer  when  he  would  !  And  thus  do  the  consequences 
of  apostasy  show  why  it  is  better  never  to  have  known 
the  way  of  righteousness,  than  when  it  has  once  been 
known,  to  turn  one's  back  upon  it. 

Let  us  now  illustrate  the  truth  of  our  text  by  the 
example  of  Judas.  Here  we  have  to  show — first^  that 
it  can  be  said  also  of  Judas,  that  he  had  at  one  time 
•walked  in  the  way  of  righteousness ;  secondly,  how  he 
turned  his  back  upon  that  way  of  righteousness ;  and 
thirdly,  what  judgments  followed  his  apostasy. 

Judas  had  once  walked  in  the  way  of  righteous- 
ness. There  are,  indeed,  many  who  doubt  whether  it 
can  truly  be  said  of  Judas,  that  he  ever  walked  in 
that  way.  There  are  many  who  think  that  no  spark 
of  faith  or  piety  ever  burned  in  his  breast;  that  in 
joining  himself  to  Christ  he  was,  from  the  very  first, 
influenced  by  no  other  motive  than  the  wish  to  acquire 
honour  and  riches,  through  a  Messiah  "who  he  expect- 
ed was  to  come  forth  as  a  mighty  conqueror.  But  if 
this  was  the  case,  why  then  did  Christ  choose  him  as 
one  of  the  twelve?  True  it  is,  Christ  said  on  one 
occasion  concerning  him:  "Have  not  I  chosen  you 
twelve,  and  one  of  you  is  a  devil."  But  if  the  Lord 
chose  him  especially  from  among  the  multitude  of 
his  followers,  it  must  have  been  because  he  saw  some- 
thing in  him  to  justify  such  a  choice.  Then  again, 
when  Christ  spoke  those  words,  a  year  had  already 
elapsed  since  the  time  of  his  election ;  and  in  a  year 
much  may  happen — especially  in  nearness  to  Jesus. 
For  we  must  bear  in  mind  that  this  nearness  to  Jesus 


54  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

must  have  worked  very  effectively  upon  the  spirits  of 
his  disciples.  He  was  like  a  moral  sun,  which  matures 
the  growth  of  good  plants,  but  at  the  same  time 
scorches  those  which  have  no  root.  And  in  this  sense 
also  it  is  true,  that  by  him  "are  the  thoughts  of  many 
hearts  revealed."  But  what  most  distinctly  shows 
that  Judas  must  have  gone  at  least  a  certain  length 
upon  the  way  of  righteousness,  is  the  account  we  read 
of  the  effect  produced  upon  him  by  his  oyn  dark  deed 
of  treachery.  So  great  was  his  remorse  at  the  re- 
membrance of  his  crime,  that  he  could  rather  commit 
self-murder  than  endure  the  thought  of  having  deli- 
vered him  up  to  death.  If  you  do  but  endeavour  to 
realize  his  circumstances,  you  will,  I  think,  conclude 
that  Christ  must  have  made  on  his  mind  a  strong,  ay, 
an  overpowering  impression.  When,  casting  down 
the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  in  the  temple,  he  exclaimed, 
"I  have  betrayed  the  innocent  blood;"  he  must  have 
meant  by  that  word  innocent,  a  great  deal  more  than 
one  usually  means  when  one  speaks  of  an  innocent 
man.  Because  it  is  certain  that  a  man  like  him  would 
never  have  laid  violent  hands  upon  himself  from 
remorse  at  having  betrayed  a  merely  innocent  man. 
Where,  indeed,  should  we  find  a  similar  case  to  this 
in  history;  although  it  records  instances  enough  of 
men  who  have  betrayed  innocent  blood  ?  It  is  there- 
fore evident  that  Judas  once  knew  the  path  of  right- 
eousness, and  had  even  walked  some  little  way  there- 
in. We  admit  that  he  may  not  have  been  influenced 
by  bad  and  selfish  motives,  when  he  first  sought  the 
company  of  Jesus;  yet  with  all  that,  he  must  have 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  55 

been  a  block  of  timber  out  of  which  something  could 
be  made  for  the  kingdom  of  God — his  heart  must 
have  been  a  soil  from  which  the  plants  of  righteous- 
ness might  have  been  reared.  And,  at  least  in  the 
early  period  of  his  discipleship,  there  must  have  gone 
forth  from  Jesus  even  into  his  heart,  some  rays  full 
of  warmth  and  of  light. 

Further,  let  us  inquire  how  it  was  that  Judas  eame 
to  turn  his  back  upon  the  way  of  righteousness  ?  A 
wise  man  of  ancient  Greece  used  the  remarkable  expres- 
sion: That  as  there  is  no  pomegranate  in  which  at 
least  one  corrupt  seed  may  not  be  found,  so  there  is  no 
man  altogether  without  some  bad  spot  in  his  nature. 
And  it  is  scarcely  less  remarkable  that  that  saying 
has  been  adopted  by  that  great  philosopher  of  modern 
times,  who  has  expressed  his  conviction  that  every 
man,  even  the  best,  has  his  price,  at  which  he  will  be 
ready  to  sell  his  virtue  when  his  hour  of  trial  comes. 
Yes,  my  brethren,  each  one  of  us  has  his  corrupt  spot, 
each  of  us  has  his  bosom  sin.  And  our  bosom  sin  is 
the  weak  side  of  our  nature.  It  is  that  part  of  us 
where  temptation  first  assails  us ;  it  is  the  feeblest  and 
worst  defended  point  in  the  citadel,  where  Satan  sets 
his  scaling-ladders  when  he  would  take  possession  of  a 
human  heart.  0,  that  every  one  would  endeavour  to 
find  out  his  bosom  sin,  for  if  he  knows  it,  he  knows  the 
price  at  which  he  is  venal  in  the  hour  of  trial !  But 
the  worst  of  it  is,  it  is  precisely  our  most  corrupt  spot 
that  we  generally  know  least  about — and  why?  just 
because  we  are  so  sensitive  about  it.     Few  come  to 


56  THE    CROSS  A   REVEALER 

know  it  through  their  friends ;  more  readily  may  it  be 
learned  from  one's  enemies. 

Now,  covetousness  was  Judas's  bosom  sin.  One 
feature  of  his  early  life  has  been  preserved  to  us  by 
John,  and  that  is  sufficient  to  let  us  understand  all 
that  follows.  He  had  doubtless  a  natural  talent  which 
was  closely  allied  to  his  darling  sin,  and  that  was  a 
talent  for  money  matters  and  keeping  accounts,  and 
therefore  it  was  that  the  common  purse  was  confided 
to  his  care.  But  he  stole  the  money  of  the  Lord  and 
of  the  poor.  He  stole  the  money  of  the  poor;  and 
yet,  when  Mary  took  the  box  of  precious  ointment, 
and  poured  it  upon  the  Saviour's  feet,  because  she 
loved  much,  he  affected  a  true  philanthropy,  and  was 
indignant  that  so  much  money  (for  the  value  of  the 
ointment  was  about  forty-five  dollars)  should  have 
been  withheld  from  the  poor.  Do  we  not  feel,  when 
we  contemplate  this  heart,  as  if  we  looked  down  into 
an  open  sepulchre,  full  of  all  uncleanness?  I^ow  the 
whole  subsequent  narrative  becomes  intelligible  to  one. 
Yes ;  a  man  such  as  that  could  betray  the  Saviour.  It 
is  said  that  when  he  betrayed  the  Lord  he  entertained 
the  hope  that  Jesus  would  set  himself  free  again.  It 
may  have  been  so :  but  we  do  not  require  to  receive 
this  assumption  in  order  to  make  his  committing  such 
a  crime  conceivable.  The  man  who  thus  surrenders 
himself  to  sin,  falls  wholly  into  its  power:  over  him  it 
acquires  irresistible  control,  so  that  at  length  he  no 
longer  knows  what  he  does.  Men  may  be  so  under 
the  power  of  lust  that  it  drives  them — whither,  they 
know  not  j  whither,  reason  and  conscience  do  not  ask. 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  57 

And  this  is  the  case  with  every  passion  when  it  is 
allowed  to  grow  to  a  great  degree  :  let  any  passion  rule 
unbridled  within  you,  and  it  will  bring  you  to  such  a 
state  that  you  no  longer  know  what  you  are  doing. 
How  many  better  thoughts  had  Judas  to  crush  within 
him,  before  it  came  to  this  with  him. 

Our  eye  rests  in  general  only  on  that  last  point  of 
the  fatal  way  that  Jadas  went,  when  the  Lord  said  to 
him:  "What  thou  doest,  do  quickly,"  after  which,  as 
John  tells  us,  "he  went  out,  and  it  was  night."  We 
think  that  this  was  the  moment  in  which  the  devil 
contended  for  his  soul.  But  the  heat  of  the  conflict 
was  not  in  this  moment.  It  was  rather  in  the  hour, 
when,  for  the  first  time,  he  put  forth  his  hand  towards 
the  purse,  the  purse  of  the  Lord  and  of  the  poor:  this 
was  the  moment  when  the  devil  made  his  chief  assault 
upon  his  heart. 

Without  are  foes  on  every  hand, 

And  traitors  lurk  within! 
Who  can  Satan's  wiles  withstand 

That  is  in  league  with  sin? 

From  that  fatal  hour  in  which  he  first  put  forth  his 
hand  to  commit  the  first  act  of  theft,  the  flame  of  con- 
science burns  every  day  more  faintly,  and  sin  becomes 
every  day  more  easy.  Brethren,  if  the  flame  of  con- 
science is  to  burn,  it  must  be  fed,  and  prayer  is  the 
oil  that  feeds  it.  But  Judas  had  ceased  to  pray;  for 
Judas  was  a  hypocrite,  and  a  hypocrite  cannot  pray. 
We  may  deceive  our  fellow-men,  but  God  cannot  be 
deceived,  and  this  every  one  who  draws  near  to  him 
6 


58  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

in  prayer  must  feel.  And  thus,  onwards  from  those 
first  days  of  his  intercourse  with  the  Saviour,  the 
motions  of  his  heart  toward?  God  grew  feebler,  until 
they  cease  altogether;  until,  at  length,  no  finger  of 
warning  and  of  threatening  is  held  up  before  his  soul 
any  more,  at  least  if  there  is,  he  sees  it  not — if  it 
cries,  Desist!  he  hears  it  not.  And  so  on  until  he 
becomes  a  traitor.  And  the  name  with  which  he 
passes  into  the  world's  history  is — the  Traitor!  See 
you  not  here  to  what  an  extent  that  man  may  become 
hardened,  who  has  once  known  the  way  of  righteous- 
ness? At  the  cross  of  Christ  it  is  revealed.  0!  let 
him  that  standeth  take  heed  lest  he  fall ! 

It  remains  now  that  I  speak  of  the  judgments  which 
follow  the  sin  of  thus  doing  outrage  to  ones  conscience. 
We  have  mentioned  them  in  part  already.  We  have 
already  seen  that  the  conscience  which  to-day  is 
unheard,  and  scornfully  repulsed,  will  speak  to-mor- 
row with  a  less  audible  voice ;  and  that  daily  the  path 
of  sin  becomes  smoother  and  more  easy.  This  is  the 
judgment  of  hardness  which  is  most  immediate  and 
unfailing.  Sin  punishes  itself  with  sin — momentous 
and  world  ancient  truth,  which  the  poets  and  wise 
men  among  the  heathen  proclaimed.  And  what  is 
most  fatal  in  that  truth  is  the  view,  that  with  every 
step  further  into  sin,  return  becomes  more  difficult, 
and  this  very  especially  in  the  case  of  those  who  have 
once  known  the  way  of  righteousness  and  have  turned 
their  back  upon  it.  For  thus  they  lose  the  power  to 
believe  and  to  love,  and  when  that  is  gone,  how  shall 
they  return  again  into  the  region  of  peace  and  of  life? 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF   MEN.  59 

Observe  to  what  an  extent  Judas  lost  the  capacity  to 
love.  What  human  heart  can  be  untouched  by  the 
contemplation  of  the  serene  and  solemn  demeanour  of 
Jesus  towards  him  when  the  first  season  was  past,  and 
sin  had  begun  to  do  its  work.  On  the  one  hand, 
there  is  that  divine  earnestness  with  which,  from  time 
to  time,  he  uttered  the  voice  of  prophetic  warning  in 
his  ear.  And  on  the  other  hand,  that  considerate 
love  with  which,  in  these  warnings,  he  ever  spared 
him  before  the  disciples,  never  mentioning  his  name, 
just  as  if  he  was  addressing  a  secret  word  to  his  heart 
alone,  by  which  he  constantly  and  unweariedly  wooed 
his  heart — ever  up  to  that  majestic  close,  when  he 
washed  the  traitor's  feet!  And  by  all  that,  Judas 
was  untouched ;  to  all  he  was  insensible.  For  he  that 
has  himself  ceased  to  love,  can  no  longer  understand 
the  love  of  others.  In  his  dead  heart  all  is  voiceless 
and  mute.  Even  when  he  took  the  pieces  of  silver, 
his  heart  was  unmoved;  the  price  of  Him  that  was 
valued  did  not  burn  in  his  hand.  But  he  awoke  at 
last.  One  often  sees  the  motions  of  conscience,  which 
for  years  have  been  repressed,  at  length,  in  the  mo- 
ment of  decision,  when  the  fatal  die  is  cast,  break  out 
within  the  deadened  soul,  like  a  storm  gathering  from 
all  parts  of  the  heavens.  And  thus  it  happens  here. 
At  the  very  moment  when  the  nameless  deed  of  in- 
famy was  going  on;  when  Pilate  was  saying,  '^Take 
ye  him  and  crucify  him;"  and  when  he,  in  whom  even 
Pilate  could  find  no  guilt,  was  led  away  between  two 
thieves  to  execution :  then  it  is  that  the  pent-up  storm 
burst  out  in  fury  within  the  conscience  of  the  traitor. 


60  THE    CROSS    A    REVEALER 

And  as  he  heard  a  voice  cry  out  against  him  from 
every  fold  of  that  conscience — "Traitor,  traitor!"  the 
feeling  that  awoke  within  him  was — "Yes,  I  loved  him 
once;  once  I  was  loved  by  him!"  But  from  such 
thoughts  as  these  he  could  derive  consolation  no 
longer:  they  were  but  the  beginning  of  the  pains  of 
eternal  judgment;  for  alas!  he  had  then  no  longer 
power  to  believe.  He  had  no  pity  for  himself,  how 
then  could  he  hope  that  Christ  would  have  pity  on 
him?  True,  even  then  it  was  not  too  late!  0,  it  was 
not  too  late !  Judas,  why  didst  thou  not,  even  then, 
hasten  to  the  spot  where  thy  Master  was  breathing 
out  his  life?  Surely  he  who  opened  the  gates  of 
Paradise  to  the  crucified  thief  would  have  had  com- 
passion upon  thee!  And  if  he  could  not  stretch  out 
towards  thee  his  nail-pierced  hands — if  his  mouth, 
already  closed  in  the  last  death-struggle,  could  no 
longer  speak  the  word,  "Father,  forgive!" — yet 
surely  his  closing  eye  would  have  proclaimed  thy 
pardon,  yes,  even  thine!  But  alas!  in  vain  had  it 
spoken  thy  forgiveness:  for  what  does  pardon  avail 
where  there  is  not  faith  to  receive  it,  to  make  it  our 
own  ?  And  this  is  the  most  frightful  of  all  the  judg- 
ments which  follow  upon  hardness  of  heart,  that  when 
God  is  willing  to  forgive,  the  man  can  no  longer  be- 
lieve in  forgiveness.  0,  overwhelming  truth !  Where- 
fore do  we  look  forward  to  the  end  of  time  and  doubt- 
ingly  inquire,  if  a  throne  of  judgment  be  erected 
there?  Look  here!  Behold  a  judgment-seat  in  every 
sinner's  breast,  and  around  it  all  the  terrors  of  a  right- 
eous God! 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  61 

Now  we  know  that  it  is  better  to  have  a  cold  heart 
than  one  which  has  grown  lukewarm,  for  the  cold  heart 
can  be  more  easily  warmed.  Now  we  know  why  it  is 
better  not  to  have  known  the  way  of  righteousness, 
than  after  having  known  it,  to  turn  one's  back  upon 
it;  for  the  way  thither  is  infinitely  less  difficult  than 
the  way  back.  And  why  have  I  proclaimed  this  truth  ? 
In  order  that  we  may  be  ashamed  and  confounded  at 
Judas?  I  tell  you,  No!  but  that  we  may  be  ashamed 
and  confounded  at  our  own  selves;  and  that  every  one 
that  standeth  may  take  heed  lest  he  fall! 

0  Thou  eternal  Mercy,  who  condemnest  none  but 
those  who  condemn  themselves,  help  us,  we  pray,  that 
we  may  not  condemn  ourselves !  0  Thou  eternal 
Justice,  who  on  the  earth  didst  so  mightily  reveal  thy 
terrors  in  the  breast  of  the  hardened  sinner,  help  us, 
we  pray,  that  we  fall  not  under  thine  eternal  judg- 
ments.    Amen ! 


SERMON  lY. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR's  PASSION  MAKES  MANIFEST  IN 
PILATE  TO  WHAT  A  DEGREE  THE  HUMAN  HEART  IS  CAPABLE 
OF    SHALLOWNESS    AND    VANITY. 

John  xviii.  38. — "Pilate  saith  unto  Him,  What  is  truth?     And 
when  he  had  said  this,  he  went  out  again  unto  the  Jews." 

We  have  been  contemplating  the  revelation  of  the 
human  heart  presented  to  us  in  the  history  of  our 
Saviour's  passion.  We  have  seen  what  is  implied  in 
the  sin  of  hardening  the  heart,  both  in  those  who  will 
6* 


62  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

know  nothing  of  Christ  at  all,  and  of  those  who,  after 
having  once  known  the  way  of  righteousness,  have 
turned  their  back  upon  it.  To-day  a  different  character 
will  come  under  our  view — another  of  the  dark  sides 
of  human  nature  will  unfold  itself  before  us.  The  two 
characters  which  have  hitherto  formed  the  subject  of 
our  contemplation,  have  been  such  as  we  felt  ourselves 
separated  from  by  a  wide  chasm ;  and  notwithstanding, 
we  felt  called  upon  to  take  their  case  seriously  to 
heart,  and  like  the  disciples  in  the  Gospel,  concernedly 
inquire,  "Lord,  is  it  If'  It  may  be  that  to-day  one 
and  another  of  us  will  be  forced  to  exclaim,  "  God  help 
me,  for  that  case  is  just  my  own!"  I  am  going  to 
speak  to-day  of  that  class  of  men  who  are  too  bad  for 
heaven,  and  too  good  for  hell.  According  to  our  inten- 
tion, as  you  will  recollect,  we  have  spoken  first  of  the 
enemies  of  Jesus;  to-day  we  shall  cast  our  glance  upon 
one  who  was  too  weak  to  be  an  enemy  of  Jesus,  but 
who  was  also  too  weak  to  be  his  friend :  to-day  we  shall 
contemplate  Pilate.  We  shall  see  this  day  to  what  a 
degree  the  human  heart  is  capable  of  shalloivncss  and 
vanity,  and  this  will  be  shown  us  in  the  case  of  Pilate. 
Listen  to  that  saying  of  the  Gospel,  which  in  a  few 
words  completely  describes  the  man,  in  John  xviii.  38, 
'' Pilate  saith  unto  him,  What  is  truth  9  And  when 
he  had  said  this,  he  went  out  again  unto  the  Jews."" 

In  order  to  learn  from  the  example  of  Pilate  to  what 
extent  the  human  heart  is  capable  of  shallowness  and 
vanity,  let  us  look  into  the  heart  of  Pilate  and  there 
see  how  vain  a  man  becomes,  who  is  too  weak  to  believe 
in  truth,  and  at  the  same  time  too  weak  to  deny  it 


OF   THE   HEARTS    OF   MEN.  63 

altogether.  We  shall  then  consider  his  actions,  in 
order  to  see  how,  in  the  case  of  him  to  whom  truth  has 
become  an  empty  sound,  justice  and  virtue  also  become 
an  idle  name. 

Pilate  tvas  too  weak  to  believe  in  truth  in  divine 
things.  The  time  had  arrived  among  the  Roman 
nation,  which  sooner  or  later  must  come  upon  every 
people  whose  religion  is  not  of  the  truth.  All  such 
religions  fall  a  prey  to  the  weakness  of  old  age.  When 
reason  awakes  and  begins  to  put  forth  her  power,  the 
infantile  or  savage  views  of  religion  are  no  longer  able 
to  hold  their  ground,  the  upper  classes  throw  aside 
their  belief,  the  lower  classes  become  uncertain,  while 
the  priests  laugh  to  each  other  over  the  blind  dupes  of 
their  subtlety  and  craft.  "  0  !  what  dreary  times  these 
must  be !"  I  think  I  hear  you  say.  But  are  you  aware 
that  there  are  people  who  tell  us  that  the  present  is 
such  a  time  for  our  Christian  faith ;  and  that,  accord- 
ing to  them,  its  last  hour  has  already  struck !  Now 
to  maintain  that  the  last  hour  of  Christianity  has 
arrived,  in  times  when  the  battle-cry  of  her  warriors 
resounds  through  every  land,  when  numberless  journals 
are  engaged  in  keeping  the  record  of  the  campaigns, 
the  joys  and  sorrows  of  the  Church;  ay,  and  when  the 
messengers  of  the  Gospel  are  sent  forth  in  troops  to 
take  possession  of  the  countries  of  heathendom  in  the 
name  of  the  Head  of  that  Church ;  to  maintain  in  days 
such  as  these,  that  Christianity  exists  no  more,  and 
Christ  is  dead,  were  folly  indeed.  And  yet  even  were 
it  so,  were  Christ  in  his  Church  now  dead — 0,  surely 
he  would  rise  again !     He  has  already  celebrated  more 


64  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

than  one  resurrection  in  tlie  course  of  history;  and  just 
when  people  imagined  they  had  buried  him,  behold, 
he  has  risen  in  light,  and  given  the  world  a  new  Easter- 
morning  to  keep!  Yes,  in  the  little  vessel  of  the 
Church,  Jesus  may  sleep,  but  he  cannot  die — he 
abideth  ever. 

But  of  the  religions  of  the  two  most  refined  nations 
of  antiquity,  it  is  sure  that  at  the  time  of  the  birth  of 
Christ,  they  had  outlived  themselves,  and  were  already 
paralyzed  with  age.  And  in  this  do  we  not  recognize 
how  the  finger  of  the  clock  of  time  pointed  to  the  hour 
when  the  old  was  passed  away,  and  the  period  for 
the  new  and  perfect  religion  was  at  hand  ?  When  the 
stars  in  the  spiritual  firmament  begin  to  fade,  it  is  a 
sign  that  morning  is  about  to  dawn,  and  that  the  Sun 
of  the  world  is  about  to  rise.  Now,  at  such  a  period 
of  decay  in  the  religion  of  a  people,  we  generally  find 
the  minds  of  those  who  have  forsaken  the  faith  of 
their  fathers  dividing  into  two  classes.  The  one  class 
are  those  who,  as  they  look  with  a  sorrowful  eye  upon 
the  downfall  of  their  national  faith,  do  nevertheless 
feel  confident  that  although  their  religion  be  not  the 
true  one,  still  there  must  undoubtedly  be  a  Religion 
of  Truth  for  man.  And  so,  amid  the  conflicts  of 
their  storm-tossed  heart,  they  strive,  and  search,  and 
labour,  with  such  awful  earnestness,  that  if  Truth 
were  buried  deep  beneath  the  earth  they  would  dig 
her  thence.  Of  such  men  there  were  not  a  few  in 
those  days  among  the  Roman  people.  History  tells 
us  that  they  were  beginning  then  to  go  over  to  the 
Jewish  sanctuaries  in  crowds — strong  enough  to  set 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OP   MEN.  65 

at  defiance  the  scorn  which  their  haughty  fellow- 
countrymen  were  wont,  even  then,  to  pour  upon  the 
circumcised  people  of  Israel.  Mention  is  made  in  the 
New  Testament  of  some  of  those  noble,  truth-seeking 
souls,  as  Cornelius  and  the  centurion  of  Capernaum : 
and  strong  believing  spirits  those  must  have  been. 
Was  it  not  of  the  centurion  of  Capernaum  that  Jesus 
said,  ^'Verily  I  have  not  found  so  great  faith,  no,  not 
in  Israel;"  and  do  we  not  read  of  Cornelius,  that  his 
prayers  were  carried  by  the  angels  before  the  throne 
of  mercy?  Young  men,  who  think  you  can  offer  no 
resistance  to  unbelief  in  the  faith  of  your  fathers — if 
such  there  be  among  you — consider,  I  beseech  you, 
Jiow  those  men  of  old  broke  with  their  religion: 
namely,  so  that  their  heart  was  at  the  same  time 
broken  too;  consider  further,  that  in  ceasing  to 
believe  they  did  not  cease  to  inquire  after  truth; 
that  when  they  could  no  longer  pray  to  the  God  of 
their  fathers,  they  at  least  stretched  out  their  hands  to 
the  Unknown  God ! 

But  there  was  another  class,  and  that  undoubtedly 
the  most  numerous,  of  those  who  had  lost  that  sacred 
thing,  which  should  be  linked  with  every  fibre  of  the 
human  heart,  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  and  who,  not- 
withstanding, lived  on  in  the  world  careless  and  uncon- 
cerned, as  men  who  had  parted  with  a  worthless  and 
somewhat  troublesome  possession.  This  is  the  class 
in  which  we  must  reckon  Pilate.  I  do  not  deny  that 
when  one  hears  him  cry,  "What  is  truth?"  one's  first 
impression  of  him  is  somewhat  higher  than  this.  But 
perhaps  we  feel  thus  only  because  his  words  recall  to 


66  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

our  mind  the  hours  when  we  made  use  of  the  same 
words  to  express  the  earnest  longing  of  our  soul. 
Our  cry,  "What  is  truth?"  was  the  utterance  of  the 
deepest,  the  most  awful  questionings  of  our  heart.  I 
think  I  hear  those  words  sounding  out  into  the  silence 
of  night  from  many  an  oppressed,  tempest-tossed,  and 
weary  soul.  Ah !  these  are  not  empty  words  scattered 
on  the  winds:  no,  they  are  burning  prayers — and  in 
the  vast  night  to  which  alone  they  seem  to  be 
breathed,  there  are  angels  waiting  to  bear  them,  as 
they  bore  the  prayer  of  Cornelius,  up  to  the  throne  of 
mercy.  And  thus,  when  we  hear  Pilate  ask,  "What 
is  truth?"  we  are  inclined  to  think  well  of  him,  to 
think  of  him  as  an  inquirer  after  truth.  But  was  it, 
indeed,  in  this  sense  he  put  the  question  ? — was  it,  in 
fact,  a  question  at  all  with  him  ?  If  so,  why  did  he 
turn  away  the  very  instant  after  putting  it?  Why 
did  he  turn  his  back  upon  the  very  King  of  Truth 
who  stood  before  him,  ready  to  answer  it  ?  Truly,  if 
it  had  been  a  real  question  of  a  needy  heart,  we  should 
have  to  form  a  very  different  judgment  of  his  char- 
acter. But  it  was  not  a  question,  it  was  an  expres- 
sion of  his  own  view  in  the  matter,  or  at  best  such 
an  interrogation  as  he  had  already  answered  for  him- 
self, and  answered  in  the  negative.  Yes,  Pilate  made 
in  these  words  a  confession  of  his  faith  upon  the  sub- 
ject of  truth,  and  a  dreary  faith  it  is ! — that  all  the 
religions  which  have  ever  existed  upon  earth  have 
been  systems  of  falsehood — that  every  praying  heart 
has  believed  a  lie — that  the  fire  of  devotion  in  the 
suppliant  eye  has  been  but  an  ignis  fatuus,  only  lead- 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  67 

ing  astray;  ay,  and  that  tlie  Man  who  stood  before 
him,  when  he  said,  I  am  a  King — the  King  of  Truth 
— uttered  a  lie ! 

0  Pilate,  if  thou  hadst  ever  before  turned  thy  back 
upon  any  one  who  would  testify  to  thee  of  the  land  of 
Truth,  it  might  be  forgiven  thee.  These  knew  only 
by  hearsay  of  that  land,  they  had  never  sojourned 
there — at  most  they  had  only  been  a  little  way  over 
its  border.  But  when  the  king  of  that  region  stood 
before  thee,  why  didst  thou,  in  the  very  moment  when 
he  would  testify  to  thee  of  the  truth — 0  say,  why 
didst  thou  then  turn  thy  back  upon  him  ? 

That  Pilate  was  too  weak  to  believe  in  truth  is 
clearly  enough  implied  in  the  words  of  our  text.  It 
may,  however,  somewhat  surprise  you  when  I  add, 
that  he  was  also  too  weak  to  deny  truth  altogether. 
But  I  ask,  is  it  possible  for  a  man  to  rid  him- 
self entirely  of  all  belief  in  the  truth  ?  It  is  hardly 
possible:  for  faith  is  the  breath  of  life.  And  even 
if  a  man  entirely  forsakes  the  truth,  the  truth  does 
not  utterly  abandon  him,  but  still  casts,  ever  and 
anon,  a  faint  glimmer  of  light  across  his  soul.  And 
Pilate  had  not  courage  to  deny  it  altogether ;  this  we 
learn  from  the  sacred  narrative.  Let  me  recall  to  you 
that  momentous  interval  which  elapsed  after  Pilate, 
himself  convinced  of  the  groundlessness  of  the  charge 
of  the  Jews  against  Jesus,  had  oflfered  them  a  choice 
between  Jesus  and  Barabbas.  Pilate  sat  there  on  his 
throne.  No  sound  was  heard  save  the  whisper  and 
murmur  of  priests,  as  they  hurried  to  and  fro,  busy  in 
instilling  murderous  thoughts  into  the  minds  of  the 


68  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

multitude,  too  easily  seduced.     Then  it  was  in  the 
early  morning,  that  a  message  came  to  Pilate  from 
his  wife,  which  told  of  a  dream  she  had  had,  in  which 
it  was  announced  that  the  man  that  stood  before  that 
judgment-seat  was  a  righteous  man,  and  one  whose 
fate  the  Deity  held  more  dear  than  that  of  thousands. 
After  receiving  that  warning,  the  man  who  did  not 
believe  in  the  truth  was  nevertheless  more  zealous  in 
his  attempts  to  release  Jesus.     And  now  he  hears 
from  the  Jews  that  he  had  said  that  he  was  "  the  Son 
of  God:"   then  we  read,   "he  was  the  more  afraid." 
For  certain   memories  are    beginning  to  rise  up  in 
Pilate's  heart,  olden  memories  of  his  childhood,  and  the 
idea  awakes  within  him,  with  strange  foreboding,  that 
this  man  may  be  one  of  the  sons  of  the  gods,  of  whom 
ancient  tradition  tells,  that  they  were  wont  sometimes 
to  descend  and  wander  upon  earth,  taking  up  their 
abode  within  the  breast  of  some  favoured   mortals. 
What !  can  those  old  stories  be  true  after  all  ?     Can 
it  be  that  here  is  one  of  those  sons  of  the  gods?     He 
calls  Jesus  aside  and  asks,  "Whence  art  thou?"     It 
cannot  be  his  earthly  home  he  here  inquires  about ;  he 
had  already  learned  where  that  was ;  but  he  expects 
to  receive  some  extraordinary,  some  mysterious  reply. 
But  Jesus  is  silent.     Pilate,  wherefore  didst  thou  turn 
thy  back  upon  the  King  of  Truth  when  he  would  tes- 
tify to  thee  of  the  land  of  truth  ?     Behold  here  thy 
punishment !     Now  when  thou  askest,  the  mouth  of 
truth  is  dumb  before  thee !     0  let  no  one,  especially 
let  none  of  you  young  men,  turn  your  back  upon 
divine  truth,  when  she  would  speak  to  you ;  otherwise, 


OF  THE  HEARTS   OF   MEN.  69 

believe  me,  she  will  be  voiceless  in  that  hour  when, 
upon  your  bended  knees,  you  will  earnestly  entreat 
one  little  word  from  her  mouth.  For  Truth  is  a  queen, 
and  no  one  can  treat  her  with  contempt  and  not  suffer 
for  it  some  day. 

"  Speakest  thou  not  unto  me?"  cries  the  astounded 
judge ;  "knowest  thou  not  that  I  have  power  to  crucify 
thee,  and  have  power  to  release  thee?"  Cease  thy 
impotent  threatenings,  thou  vain  man !  for  before  thee 
stands  One  far  greater  than  thou,  and  he  points  thee 
to  the  Judge  before  whom  thou  too  shalt  one  day  lay 
down  thine  account.  With  the  majesty  of  a  king  sum- 
moning a  rebellious  subject  before  the  bar  of  judg- 
ment, Jesus  answers,  "  Thou  couldest  have  no  power 
at  all  against  me,  except  it  were  given  thee  from 
above :  therefore  he  that  delivered  me  unto  thee  hath 
the  greater  sin."  "From  thenceforth,"  we  read, 
"Pilate  sought  to  release  him."  See  you  not  here  a 
proof  that  truth  does  not  altogether  abandon  a  man, 
even  when  he-  has  begun  to  forsake  it  ?  And  this  man, 
who  is  too  weak  altogether  to  deny  the  truth,  and  at 
the  same  time  too  'vyeak  to  believe  in  it  and  to  love  it 
— what  a  mirror  his  character  holds  up  to  so  many  of 
us!  Do  you  not  recognize  in  him  a  picture  of  your- 
selves ?  There  are  not  many,  even  in  our  days,  who 
would  venture  to  meet  Chrisrianity  with  a  decided 
and  deliberate  negative.  But  how  few  respond  to  it 
with  a  deep  heartfelt  affirmative,  and  endorse  their 
belief  in  it  by  a  life  of  new  obedience  in  conformity 
with  its  requirements.  Most  people  are  content  half 
to  affirm  it  and  half  deny,  half  to  receive  and  half 
7 


70  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

reject ;  they  reply  to  the  invitations  of  the  gospel  with 
a  "Yes"  and  a  "No" — and  "I  dare  say  it  is  all 
true,"  or  a  "Well,  I  suppose  I  believe  it  all."  But, 
my  friends,  is  that  a  faith  to  which  a  man  would 
sacrifice  his  life — would  deny  the  world  and  conquer 
the  flesh  ?  0  no !  Our  belief  in  the  truth  must  be 
deliberate,  certain,  decided,  in  order  that  it  may 
become  a  believing  life !  If  it  is  not  so,  if  our  faith 
be  an  empty  name,  then  will  our  actions  be  also  vain ; 
for  if  truth  once  become  to  us  an  idle  dream,  we  shall 
soon  cease  to  have  any  faith  in  justice  and  in  virtue. 

Let  us  now  direct  our  attention  to  the  actions  of 
Pilate.  0,  you  need  but  tell  me  whether  a  man's 
faith  is  strong  or  weak,  and  I  will  tell  you  whether  his 
works  are  strong  or  weak.  He  for  whom  belief  in 
eternal  truth  is  only  a  vain  sound,  knows  of  no  mo- 
mentous import  attaching  to  what  he  does,  and  there- 
fore sees  only  vanity  in  his  actions.  For  him  right- 
eousness and  truth  have  become  an  empty  name. 
When  solemn  and  eternal  motives  have  ceased  to  regu- 
late a  man's  conduct,  those  of  merely  temporal  and 
accidental  bearing  will  take  their  place ;  when  the  fear 
of  God  is  not  the  ruling  principle  of  life,  the  fear  of 
man  will  become  so;  and  then  are  all  his  actions 
vanity  indeed.  0  doubt  it  not,  that  which  gives 
reality  and  worth  to  the  works  of  a  man,  is  his  faith. 
This  I  say  also  to  those  of  you  who  think  that  the 
worth  of  a  man  consists  not  in  his  faith,  but  in  his 
principles;  you  too  practically  acknowledge  that  a 
man's  worth  is  really  in  proportion  to  his  faith.  For 
what  are  your  principles  ?     Are  they  merely  the  max- 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OP   MEN.  71 

ims  of  worldly  prudence  ?  Such  principles,  I  confess, 
have  nothing  to  do  with  faith.  But  if  they  are  some- 
thing higher  than  this — principles  in  the  true  sense  of 
the  word,  concerning  which  you  are  convinced  that 
they  are  eternally  and  unalterably  true — then  they 
are  based  upon  nothing  else  but  faith.  Look  what 
your  principles  rest  on,  is  it  not  on  faith?  for  do  you 
not  believe  in  their  eternal  validity,  do  you  not  believe 
that  they  hold  good  beyond  and  above  all  the  maxims 
of  a  mere  worldly  prudence  ?  Take  any  one  of  those 
principles — take,  for  instance,  the  popular  saying, 
"Right  is  right,  or  "Honesty  is  the  best  policy." 
Now  you  cannot  see  with  your  eyes,  or  touch  with 
your  hands,  that  final  result  which  will  prove  that  your 
honesty  in  this  or  that  particular  action  will  turn  out 
in  the  long  run  to  have  been  the  best  policy ;  no,  you 
act  honestly,  believing  that  the  ultimate  issue  will 
prove  that  your  action  was  as  politic  as  it  was  upright; 
that  issue  you  can  see  only  with  the  eye  of  faith. 
Kow,  whoever  has  such  principles — principles  which 
are  higher  far  than  any  mere  worldly  maxims,  of 
which  he  knows  that  they  are  grounded  and  based  in 
an  eternal  order  of  things,  that  man  has  faith.  He 
may  be  blind  enough  to  disown  the  source  from  which 
it  comes,  he  may  keep  repeating  that  it  is  principle 
that  makes  him  a  man,  and  not  faith,  still  in  his  prin- 
ciple there  is  faith.  Hence  I  say  once  more,  that 
which  gives  a  man  worth  and  character  is  his  faith; 
and  he  for  whom  faith  in  the  truth  is  nothing  but  a 
sound,  can  see  no  deep  import  in  his  conduct;  hence 
his   actions  will  be   vain.     Do  you  wish   to  see  an 


72  THE   CROSS  A   REVEALER 

instance  of  this  ?  Then  look  here  at  the  -man  who 
could  ask,  "What  is  truth?"  with  a  tearless  eye  and 
an  unagitated  heart:  look,  and  observe  how  in  his 
case  justice  and  virtue  in  action  were  also  for  him  an 
idle  sound,  when  the  hour  of  trial  came !       ^ 

0  Pilate,  what  a  fate  is  now  given  into  thy  hand  to 
decide!  He  at  whose  feet  mankind  one  day  shall 
bow,  to  receive  from  him  the  award  of  their  eternal 
fate — he  is  now  in  thy  power,  before  thy  judgment- 
seat,  and  thou  boldest  the  scales  of  justice  over  him ! 
Pilate,  thy  hand  may  at  other  times  have  been  uncer- 
tain when  it  held  those  scales,  but  in  that  moment 
there  could  have  been  no  uncertainty  in  thy  judg- 
ment, if,  truth  had  not  long  since  become  an  empty 
name  for  thee ! 

It  remains  for  me  to  show  you,  how  the  man  who 
had  turned  his  back  upon  the  truth,  turned  away  also 
from  conscience  and  from  justice  when  the  greatest  of 
all  human  decisions  was  given  into  his  hand.  You 
shall  witness  a 'scene,  perhaps  not  altogether  unfami- 
liar to  you,  for  it  has  probably  been  exhibited  in  your 
own  heart;  you  shall  see  a  poor,  hard-pressed  human 
being,  struggling  between  his  conscience  on  the  one 
side,  which  with  might  assails  him,  and  summons  him 
to  execute  justice ;  and  the  fear  of  man  on  the  other 
side,  along  with  anxiety  for  his  honour,  his  office,  and 
his  property.  You  shall  see  the  man  who  has  turned 
traitor  to  truth,  in  the  first  instance  endeavour  to  set 
himself  free  by  cowardly  conduct,  and  at  last  end  by 
betraying  his  own  conscience  and  the  cause  of  right- 
eousness. 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF  MEN.  73 

From  the  very  first,  Pilate  had  a  strong  conviction 
of  the  innocence   of  the  man  whom  the  Jews  had 
brought  before  him  that  he  might  pronounce  upon 
him  a  sentence  of  condemnation;  "he  knew,"  as  Mat- 
thew informs  us,  "that  for  envy  they  had  delivered 
him."     First,  he  had  recourse  to  that  expedient  to 
which  men   resort,  who  have  no  decided   heart  for 
truth  and  justice:  it  is,  perhaps,  the  most  innocent 
way,  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  cowardly  enough.    He 
sought  to  roll  off  from  his  own  conscience  the  burden 
which  was  too  heavy  for  it,  upon  the  conscience  of 
others.    So  he  sent  Jesus,  as  a  Galilean,  to  Herod  An- 
tipas,  the  king  of  Galilee,  who,  he  learned,  was  then 
in  Jerusalem.     It  was  in  vain,  Pilate,  the  battle  is 
destined  for  thee — thou  must  fight  it  out!     So  they 
lead  Jesus,  arrayed  in  the  purple  robe,  back  from 
Herod,  and  bring  him  a  second  time  before  the  bar  of 
Pilate.    Another  resource  presents  itself.     The  blood- 
thirsty mob  must  have  death,  but  their  law  also  re- 
quires, that  at  the  feast  one  be  set  free.     The  Procu- 
rator accordingly  proposes  to  them  a  choice  between 
Jesus  and  Barabbas.     In  that  momentous   interval, 
when  the  people  are  making  their  choice,  the  dream 
of  his  wife  is  told  him,  and  throws  a  new  light  into 
his  conscience: — what  a  struggle  may  then  have  been 
carrying  on  in  his  heart.     But  this  new  device  is  also 
unavailing.     The  people  cry,  "Crucify  him,  crucify 
him!"     And  now  see  how  doubly  he  deals  with  his 
conscience.    He  will  at  once  still  its  threatening  voice 
and    satisfy  the   blood-thirstiness   of  the   mob.     He 
commands  the  bloody  scourge  to  descend  upon  the 


74  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

back  of  the  innocent  One,  of  the  King  of  Truth,  and 
then  he  leads  him  forth  again,  and  asks  the  people 
whether  they  are  satisfied  now?  "Behold  what  a 
Man!"  But  they  see  not  what  a  Man.  "Crucify 
him,  crucify  him,"  they  cry,  "for  he  has  made  him- 
self the  Son  of  God."  Once  more  Pilate  examines 
Jesus.  His  majestic  silence,  when  asked,  "Whence 
art  thou?"  and  the  royal  answer  which  follows,  throw 
a  weight  into  the  dubious  scale  which  seems  almost 
decisively  to  weigh  it  down.  But  alas!  "If  thou  let 
this  man  go,  thou  art  not  Caesar's  friend"  falls  on  his 
ear,  and  again  the  scale  rises.  He  washes  his  hands 
— had  he  but  washed  his  heart ! — and  pronounces  the 
verdict,  "Guilty!" — See  here  what  becomes  of  all 
human  virtue,  of  all  human  justice,  in  the  hour  of 
trial,  where  there  is  no  faith.  Thus  vain  are  the 
actions  of  the  man  who  has  no  faith.  Hold  as  fine 
discourses  as  you  please  about  justice  and  nobility 
and  love,  but  the  blessings  which  are  seen  will  still  be 
stronger  than  the  unseen,  and  temporal  advantages 
supply  the  place  of  virtue.  No;  it  is  only  he  who 
has  faith  in  unseen  blessings,  in  an  eternal  inherit- 
ance, which  more  than  indemnifies  for  the  loss  of  that 
which  is  seen,  which  remains  when  it  has  passed 
away ;  he  it  is  alone  who  can  show  true  nobility,  love, 
and  justice. 

Brethren,  to  you  I  address  myself,  and  I  ask,  are 
there  not  some  in  this  assembly  who  would  burn  with 
anger  if  one  were  to  question  their  morality,  but  who, 
were  their  piety  and  faith  to  be  denied,  would  hear  the 
charge  unmoved,  just  as  if  it  were  nothing  more  than 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF  MEN.  75 

if  some  one  had  denied  them  a  talent  for  music  or  any 
other  accomplishment?  But  know  you  not,  that  in 
admitting  that  your  morality  is  without  faith,  you  admit 
that  it  is  a  plant  without  a  root,  which  any  whirlwind 
of  temptation  may  destroy,  or  ever  you  are  aware. 
You  may  see  from  the  case  of  Pilate,  how  vain  a 
man's  actions  are  when  they  are  unaccompanied  by 
faith.  And  let  me  add  one  further  circumstance  con- 
nected with  him,  which  is  not  indeed  recorded  in  the 
Bible,  but  which  we  learn  from  history.  Do  you  wish 
to  know  how  the  man  who  had  declared  truth  to  be  an 
empty  sound,  died?  I  will  tell  you.  Visited,  so  his- 
tory tells  us,  with  great  and  heavy  misfortunes,  he  at 
last  died  hy  his  own  hand — like  Judas  !  Alas  for 
the  man  who  knows  of  no  blessings  beyond  those 
which  are  seen!  He  believes  that  when  these  are 
taken  from  him,  all  is  gone,  and  life  has  no  longer 
any  joys  for  him !  And  who  can  tell  but  that  the 
memory  of  the  hour,  in  which  he  had  spoken  the  word 
"guilty"  upon  Jesus,  the  Son  of  God,  remained  upon 
his  soul  all  his  days,  and,  like  a  discordant  note, 
jarred  through  all  his  life?  For  as  thoughtless  as  he 
was,  we  see  that  some  impression  had  been  left  upon 
him.  And,  doubtless,  in  these  misfortunes  which 
befell  him,  the  solitary  moments  came,  in  which  he 
would  say  to  himself,  "  There  is  something  in  truth 
after  all!"  Perhaps  he  never  altogether  could  succeed 
in  removing  from  before  his  eye  the  image  of  the  un- 
justly condemned  King  of  Truth;  perhaps  it  rose 
before  his  soul  in  that  last  dark  hour !    If  it  was  so, 


76  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

there  was  more  than  an  external  resemblance  between 
his  death  and  that  of  Judas. 

0  Christians !  What  shall  the  result  of  this  study 
of  the  character  of  Pilate  be  with  regard  to  us? 
Shall  it  be  merely  this,  that  we  are  struck  with  hor- 
ror at  the  thought  that  he  could  turn  his  back  upon 
the  King  of  Truth  ?  No,  at  ourselves  also  we  must  be 
ashamed,  at  ourselves  we  must  be  confounded,  we  who 
to  this  very  day  act  as  he  acted,  we  who,  like  him, 
ask,  "What  is  truth?"  and  like  him  also,  do  not  wait, 
keenly  and  patiently,  for  an  answer  to  the  question. 
How  many  are  there  who,  with  a  deeply  agitated 
heart,  make  the  inquiry,  what  is  truth?  How  many 
are  there  who,  when  they  have  addressed  this  question 
to  the  Scriptures  through  which  it  is  that  the  king  of 
truth  now  speaks,  give  themselves  time  to  listen,  hum- 
bly and  longingly,  until  they  have  heard  the  answer  ? 
Now  and  then  a  moment  may  be  given  to  the  thought, 
but  then  the  heart  is  away  again  at  something  else ; 
and  a  thousand  other  questions  come  before  us  which 
interest  us  much  more. 

0  Christians !  If  hitherto  we  have  turned  our  back 
upon  others  who  would  testify  to  us  of  truth,  or  have 
lent  to  their  words  an  unwilling  ear,  it  may  be  forgiven 
us  also.  For  these  knew  only  by  hearsay  of  that 
land;  they  had  never  sojourned  there,  at  best  they 
had  been  only  a  little  way  over  its  border: — but  if 
you  turn  your  back  upon  the  king  of  that  land,  that 
sin  remains ! 

0  Lord,  give  us  a  willing  ear  and  an  impressible 
heart  when  thou  speakest  to  us,  for  we  have  believed 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  77 

and  known,  that  thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God,  and  that  thou  alone  hast  the  words  of  eternal 
life !     Amen. 


SEEMON  V. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR^S  PASSION  MAKES  MANIFEST  IN 
PETER  TO  WHAT  AN  EXTENT  A  HUMAN  HEART  MAT  WAVER  IN 
ITS  ATTACHMENT  TO  HIM  IN  WHOM  IT  HAS  CONFESSEDLY  FOUND 
THE   WORDS   OF   ETERNAL   LIFE. 

John  vi.  67 — 69 :  Then  said  Jesus  unto  the  twelve,  Will  ye  also  go 
away?  Then  Simon  Peter  answered  him,  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we 
go?  Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life.  And  we  believe,  and  are 
sure,  that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 

Luke  xxii.  60 — 62:  And  Peter  said,  Man,  I  know  not  what  thou 
sayest.  And  immediately,  while  he  yet  spake,  the  cock  crew. 
And  the  Lord  turned,  and  looked  upon  Peter :  and  Peter  remem- 
bered the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  he  had  said  unto  him,  Before  the 
cock  crow,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice.  And  Peter  went  out,  and 
wept  bitterly. 

Brethren  in  Christ: — The  enemies  of  Jesus  have 
passed  before  us.  After  them  the  man  who  was  too 
weak  to  be  an  enemy  of  Jesus,  and  at  the  same  time 
too  weak  to  be  his  friend,  has  been  held  up  before  our 
view.  This  day  we  turn  our  glance  upon  the  friends 
of  Jesus.  You  have  witnessed  in  the  case  of  Pilate, 
to  what  a  degree  the  human  heart  is  capable  of  shal- 
lowness and  vanity,  and  have  seen  that  he  to  whom 
truth  has  become  nothing  more  than  an  idle  sound, 
Boon  comes  also  to  regard  righteousness  and  virtue  as 


78  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

nothing  but  an  empty  name.  To-day  we  shall  see,  to 
what  a  degree  the  hearts  even  of  those  who  can  con- 
fess, that  Christ  has  the  words  of  eternal  life,  may 
waver  in  their  attachment  to  him.  As  we  contem- 
plated the  man  who  asked,  "What  is  truth?"  and, 
immediately  thereafter,  turned  away,  our  conscience 
reproached  us,  and  we  were  compelled  to  acknowledge 
that  we  were  like  him,  because  there  are  so  very  few 
among  us  who  inquire  after  truth  with  an  earnestness 
which  influences  their  whole  life ;  so  few,  who,  with  all 
the  intensity  of  which  their  nature  is  capable,  search 
the  Scriptures  through  which  the  King  of  Truth 
addresses  us;  so  very  few,  who,  after  reverently  ask- 
ing the  question,  "What  is  truth?"  reverently  awaits 
its  answer.  Ye  superficial  Bible-readers,  one  and  all ! 
ye  who  but  seldom  read,  and  lightly  inquire,  ye  who 
think  but  little  and  pray  but  rarely,  can  it  be  that  ye 
have  heard  the  solemn  lesson  which  the  history  of 
Pilate  teaches,  and  heard  unmoved?  0  surely,  to- 
day at  least,  the  truth  of  God  will  come  home  to  you, 
for  it  is  to  you  more  especially  I  have  this  day  to 
preach,  as  I  hold  up  before  you  the  consequence  of 
a  superficial  Christianity  like  yours.  We  shall  learn 
from  the  case  of  Peter,  to  what  an  extent  the  human 
heart  may  waver  in  its  attachment  to  Jesus,  even  after 
having  confessed  that  He  has  the  words  of  eternal 
life.  Listen  to  the  two  passages  of  Scripture  which 
show  us  this. 

We  read  in  John  vi.  67 — 69 :  "  Then  said  Jesus 
unto  the  twelve.  Will  ye  also  go  away  f  Then  Simon 
Feter  answered  him.  Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go? 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  79 

Thou  hast  the  words  of  eternal  life.  And  we  helieve, 
and  are  sure,  that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son  of 
the  liviny  Grod^  And  further,  Luke  xxii.  60 — 62: 
^^And  Peter  said,  Man,  I  know  not  what  thou  say- 
est.  And  immediately,  while  he  yet  spake,  the  cock 
crew.  And  the  Lord  turned,  and  looked  upon  Peter: 
and  Peter  remembered  the  word  of  the  Lord,  how  he 
had  said  unto  him.  Before  the  cock  crow,  thou  shalt 
deny  me  thrice.  And  Peter  went  out,  and  wept  bit- 
terly.'' 

We  learn  from  these  verses  how  Peter  stood,  how  he 
fell,  and  how  he  raised  himself  again.  Let  us  view 
these  in  succession,  and  then  we  shall  turn  our  eye 
from  Peter,  and  look  at  ourselves.  For  there  are 
doubtless  some  among  us  who,  up  to  this  time,  have 
been  ready  enough  to  "cast  a  stone"  at  Peter,  not 
stopping  to  ask  themselves  whether  they  were  really 
altogether  without  sin  in  this  matter.  Let  me  then 
show  that  also  in  this  respect  we  have,  all  of  us,  occa- 
sion to  put  the  question,  "Lord,  is  it  I?"  And  more 
than  this :  it  will  probably  appear  the  case  of  many  of 
us  is  worse  even  than  that  of  Peter  was,  inasmuch  as 
we  have  fallen  like  Peter,  but  have  not  risen  again  as 
he  did.  Thus  we  shall  have  to  leave  this  sacred  house 
with  the  humbling  conviction  of  how  great  a  degree  of 
wavering  in  its  attachment  to  Jesus  may  be  exhibited 
by  a  human  heart,  even  after  it  has  acknowledged 
that  He  has  the  words  of  eternal  life.  And  each  of 
us  will  say  in  the  silence  of  his  heart :  Ah  yes,  good 
cause  hath  "he  that  standeth  to  take  heed,  lest  he 
fall!" 


80  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

How  Peter  stood.  Peter  stood  in  sucli  a  relation 
to  Christ,  that  already,  before  he  heard  those  words 
of  his  which  immediately  precede  our  text,  he  had 
spent  many  an  hour  with  Jesus  in  which  he  had  tasted 
of  eternity;  and  therefore  it  was  he  could  cry,  "Thou 
hast  the  words  of  eternal  life."  We  too  experience 
somewhat  of  such  feelings  as  we  read  the  Scriptures; 
but  the  impression  which  the  words  of  Jesus  make  on 
us  is  naturally  much  feebler  than  with  those  who  heard 
him  themselves.  Hence  we  can  with  difficulty  con- 
ceive what  an  amount  of  ardent  feeling  might  be  put 
into  these  words  of  Peter.  Let  me  therefore  dwell 
upon  this  a  little  longer.  The  words  of  eternal  life 
which  Jesus  spoke,  address  us  merely  in  the  cold,  stiff 
letter,  and  we  must  first  analyze  them  and  take  them 
to  pieces,  ere  we  can  become  aware  of  the  spirit  and 
life  they  contain.  But  when  they  flowed  frc^  the 
living  lips  of  the  incarnate  Redeemer,  then  Verily 
there  must  have  been  a  strange  moving  in  the  air ;  a 
breath  of  life  must  have  breathed  about  those  words, 
such  as  must  have  touched  every  impressible  heart ! 
We  see  even  common  minds  affected  by  that  breath 
thus  immediately  felt,  in  a  mysterious  way,  such  as 
reason  in  vain  attempts  to  comprehend.  We  read,  for 
instance,  of  a  certain  woman  in  the  crowd,  who,  as  she 
hears  Jesus  speak,  cannot  choose  but  cry  with  an  un- 
accountable enthusiasm,  "Blessed  is  the  womb  that 
bare  thee,  and  the  breasts  which  thou  hast  sucked!" 
What  do  I  then  mean  when  I  say  that  those  had 
greater  privileges  than  we  enjoy?  I  mean  this:  we 
have  the  mere  words,  and  not  even  them,  as  uttered 


OF  .THE   HEARTS    OF   MEN.  81 

by  the  voice,  but  only,  as  it  were,  encoffined  in  the 
black  letters;  while  they  had,  besides  the  words,  the 
impression  of  the  whole  personality  of  Him  who  spoke 
them.  And  what  a  Personality  was  that !  Other  wise 
men  had  taught,  and  their  disciples  had  heard  their 
words  of  wisdom.  But  what  essentially  distinguished 
Jesus  from  all  these  other  teachers  of  truth  is  this, 
that  he  not  only  discoursed  of  truth,  but  that  he  was 
himself  the  Truth  he  spoke.  When  the  wise  men  of 
this  world  preach  to  us,  so  little  are  we  in  the  habit  of 
taking  for  granted  that  their  life  is  in  unison  with 
their  doctrine,  that  we  hardly  think  it  worth  our  while 
to  ask  whether  they  are  indeed  the  truth  which  they 
proclaim.  One  of  those  wise  men  has  even  used  the 
remarkable  expression,  that  a  man  might  get  rid  of 
his  knowledge  of  the  words  of  many  of  these  teachers 
of  wisdom,  by  becoming  acquainted  with  their  persons 
and  their  lives. 

Now,  it  was  the  perfect  harmony  which  subsisted 
between  the  words  and  the  character  of  Jesus,  that 
caused  that  unbounded  confidence,  and  deep  attach- 
ment of  souls  to  him,  to  which  he  refers  so  strikingly 
in  the  parable  of  the  Good  Shepherd,  where  he  says, 
"My  sheep  hear  my  voice,  and  I  know  them,  and 
they  follow  me."  Every  word  was  a  revelation  of  his 
person,  and  therefore  it  was  that  every  word  had  so 
profound  a  significance,  and  sank  so  deep  into  the 
hearts  of  those  that  heard  him.  And  Peter  was  one 
of  those  who  knew  the  voice  of  Jesus  in  its  deep,  soul- 
penetrating  power;  and  therefore  he  united  a  cordial 
reliance  upon  the  words,  with  an  entire  confidence  in 
8 


82  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

tlie  person,  of  Jesus.  And  tlius  it  was  he  would 
exclaim,  "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God."  He  knew  that  he  was  the  Son  of  God,  because 
he  said  he  was ;  and  could  the  words  of  him  in  whose 
discourse  he  had  so  often  tasted  of  eternity,  be  words 
of  falsehood?  In  the  case  of  this  disciple,  his  self- 
surrender  to  the  Lord  himself  was  ever  closely  united 
with  his  reliance  on  his  word.  "  Though  all  men 
should  be  offended  because  of  thee,  yet  will  not  I  be 
offended,"  cried  Peter  with  an  ardour  worthy  of  his 
love.  Who  can  tell  how  great  was  the  influence  which 
the  character,  and  works  and  words  together,  exer- 
cised imperceptibly  upon  the  minds  of  the  disciples ! 
It  must  have  been  vastly  greater  than  anything  we 
are  in  the  habit  of  imagining,  greater  even  than  they 
themselves  were  aware.  Do  we  not  see  a  proof  of  the 
overpowering  effect  of  this  personal  intercourse  with 
Jesus,  in  the  case  even  of  that  disciple,  whom  we 
designate  the  unbelieving  Thomas?  When,  in  pros- 
pect of  the  last  journey  to  Jerusalem,  the  disciples 
were  endeavouring  to  dissuade  the  Saviour  from  under-' 
taking  it,  reminding  him  that  he  would  thus  expose 
his  life  to  imminent  peril,  Thomas  exclaimed  to  his 
fellow  disciples,  "Let  us  also  go,  that  we  may  die 
with  him!"  Yes,  even  that  faint-hearted  disciple 
would  rather  lose  his  life  than  Jesus  ?  How  strong, 
then,  must  the  band  have  been  which  this  Jesus 
entwined  around  the  souls  of  men !  And  when  Tho- 
mas had  thrust  his  hand  into  his  side,  and  when, 
cured  of  his  unbelief,  he  fell  upon  his  knee  before 
him  who  is  the  resurrection  and  the  life,  he  summed 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF   MEN.  83 

up  all  his  experience  of  the  three  years,  and  of  these 
last  hours,  in  that  memorable  confession — in  which, 
indeed,  is  contained  the  substance  of  the  Christian 
faith — "My  Lord  and  my  God!"  Now,  must  not  the 
antecedent  impressions  have  been  quite  superhuman, 
in  order  so  to  affect  a  heart  that  it  could  find  utter- 
ance only  in  words  like  these  ?  Do  but  realize  the 
immense  gulf  which  in  the  eyes  of  the  pious  Israelite 
lay  between  God  in  heaven  and  men  upon  the  earth, 
and  you  will  feel  that  this  exclamation  of  Thomas  is 
itself  an  evidence,  that  in  the  appearance  of  Jesus 
Christ  was  beheld  the  glory  of  the  only-begotten  Son 
of  the  Father.  The  saying  of  Thomas  throws  also 
some  light  upon  the  feelings  with  which  Peter  must 
have  uttered  the  words  of  our  text.  From  them  we 
are  better  able  to  perceive  what  an  amount  of  fervour 
and  intensity  of  feeling  that  confession  of  his  implies. 
This,  then,  was  the  relation  in  which  Peter  stood  to 
the  Lord. 

How  Peter  fell.  As  they  lead  away  his  Master, 
all  the  others  flee,  but  Peter  follows,  drawn  by  love. 
John,  who  is  known  in  the  high-priest's  house,  enters 
with  the  rest,  and  the  door  is  shut.  Love  still  keeps 
Peter  waiting  without  the  door,  he  cannot  turn  away 
from  the  spot  where  he  has  seen  the  last  traces  of  his 
Lord.  Is  it  not  a  touching  spectacle  that  this  disci- 
ple presents,  as  he  stands  waiting  there  without,  now 
that  the  company  has  gone  in,  and  the  door  is  closed 
upon  him  ?  See  him  standing  there  in  his  perplexity, 
full  of  melancholy  thoughts  and  sad  forebodings.  It 
must  have  been  this  consideration  that  moved  John  to 


84  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

open  the  door  to  him  and  admit  him  to  the  palace. 
And  it  could  be  no  ordinary  impulse  of  love  that 
urged  him  to  enter  there.  What  danger  did  he  not 
incur  in  such  a  place  and  at  such  a  time !  The  peo- 
ple were  together  there,  who,  but  a  little  before,  had 
seen  him  in  the  garden;  Malchus  was  there  too, 
against  whom  he  had  drawn  his  sword :  should  they 
take  vengeance  upon  him,  what  fate  will  he  have  to 
expect  ? — that  of  certain  death.  Their  attention  is  now 
directed  to  the  stranger  in  that  unusual  place,  at  that 
unusual  hour.  One  question  after  another  presses 
hard  upon  his  alarmed  spirit;  and  the  man  who,  but 
the  evening  before,  when  Jesus  said,  "If  I  wash  thee 
not,  thou  hast  no  part  in  me,"  had  shuddered  at  the 
thought,  now  breaks  out,  with  cursing,  in  the  fatal 
words,  ''I hnoiv  not  the  man.'''  Alas  for  the  weak- 
ness of  human  nature  !  0  Peter,  if  he  had  been  so 
dear  to  thee,  that  for  his  sake  thou  hadst  been  willing 
to  sacrifice  thy  honour  and  thy  life ;  how  couldst  thou, 
then,  in  that  hour  have  disowned  him?  how  couldst 
thou  have  denied  what  was  doubtless  even  then  to  thee 
the  highest  blessing  and  most  treasured  thought  in 
life — how  couldst  thou  have  denied  that  thou  didst 
know  thy  Saviour?  At  that  moment,  we  read,  the 
cock  crew.  The  crowing  of  the  cock  calls  the  slum- 
bering conscience  to  awake.  Yet  not  the  crowing  of 
the  cock,  but  the  words  of  Jesus,  that  "before  the 
cock  crows,  thou  shalt  deny  me  thrice,"  resounded 
through  his  soul.  Who  has  not  made  the  terrible 
experience,  that  when  once  after  a  fall  conscience 
awakes  again,   a  thousand  forgotten  voices  of  God 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  85 

wake  up  along  with  it,  and  cry  out  in  accusation 
against  the  terror-stricken  soul? 

How  Peter  raised  himself  again,  "And  the  Lord 
turned  and  looked  upon  Peter.  And  Peter  went  out 
and  wept  bitterly."  At  that  very  moment,  as  the 
crowing  of  the  cock  resounds,  the  condemned  Jesus 
advances  from  the  interior  of  the  palace  towards  the 
outer  porch.  Not  a  word  falls  from  the  Lord,  only  a 
single  look,  but  it  is  enough ;  and  in  a  moment  before 
the  disciple's  soul  flashes  his  sin  in  all  its  horror. 
Doubtless  this  quick  understanding  on  the  part  of 
Peter,  is  a  testimony  to  the  deep-reaching  character 
of  the  tie  which  bound  his  heart  to  that  of  the  Saviour. 
Peter  !  say,  what  didst  thou  read  in  that  look  ?  was  it 
the  sentence  of  thy  condemnation  ?  0 !  it  could  not 
have  been  that  alone,  for  Peter  could  still  weep. 
Peter  could  weep — 0 !  had  Judas  only  had  such  tears 
to  shed !  He  wept  bitterly,  we  read  in  Mark,  and  he 
went  out. 

He  sought  retirement.  In  this  how  truly  his  heart 
guided  him !  It  is  only  in  solitude  that  a  man  can 
come  to  himself  again  after  a  fall  like  his.  His  tears 
flow,  and  his  heart  is  wrung  with  penitence  and 
shame,  and  yet  he  feels  as  if,  notwithstanding  all,  he 
could  still  say,  "Lord,  thou  knowest  that  I  love  thee!" 
and  feeling  this,  he  is  in  a  position  to  give  the  right 
interpretation  to  the  look  of  his  Master.  "Yes,  I 
see  its  meaning  now :  '  I  know  not  the  man'  was  what 
I  said  of  him.  Ah !  what  would  it  have  been  if  in 
return  he  had  said  the  same  to  me !  But  no,  that 
was  not  what  that  look  of  his  expressed.  There  was 
8* 


86  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

surely  too  mucli  of  tenderness  mingled  wltli  its  stern 
rebuke  for  that.  Did  it  not  appear  to  say,  '  Thou  dost 
know  me  after  all,  and  because  thou  knowest  me,  I 
forgive  thee ! '  "  And  indeed,  how  could  he  ever  have 
ventured  into  his  Maker's  presence  again,  if  he  had 
not  first  procured  forgiveness  of  his  sin.  But  he  had ; 
for  in  that  season  of  retirement  the  tears  of  penitence 
had  cleansed  his  soul,  and  so  he  could  venture  to  join 
again  the  company  of  his  fellow  disciples.  Judas  fled, 
but  Peter  we  find  beneath  the  cross,  beside  the  grave 
of  the  risen  One,  and  then  by  his  side  once  more. 
True,  a  fall  like  this  cannot  pass  away  without  leaving 
some  trace  behind  in  the  memory  of  the  true-hearted 
man.  0,  I  doubt  not  that  it  was  with  deep  humility 
and  shame  that  Peter  showed  himself  again  among 
his  brethren.  We  are  warranted  in  assuming  that  he 
felt  himself  as  good  as  deposed  from  his  apostolic 
office — but  at  the  same  time  surely  not  from  the  love 
of  Jesus.  We  are  warranted  in  believing  this  from 
the  fact,  that  Jesus  should  have  found  it  necessary 
solemnly  to  reinstate  him  in  that  office,  and,  in  pre- 
sence of  all  the  others,  to  restore  to  him,  as  it  were,  a 
good  conscience.  Three  times  he  had  denied  him, 
and  three  times  must  the  question  pierce  his  soul, 
*' Simon,  lovest  thou  me?"  And  three  times  the  com- 
mand is  given,  "Feed  my  sheep!"  And  thus  can 
even  an  inconstant,  faithless  follower  of  Jesus,  who 
comes  to  repentance,  and,  after  his  fall  rises  again, 
be  restored  to  all  the  divine  offices  and  rights  which 
he  had  forfeited  by  his  sin. 

But  is  it  not  surprising  to  what  a  degree  a  human 


OF  THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  87 

heart  may  prove  unfaitliful,  yes,  even  one  which  has 
already  mightily  experienced  the  power  of  Jesus* 
words ! 

Is  there  any  one  here  who  would  cast  a  stone  against 
the  fallen  disciple,  and  not  against  himself?  Truly  it 
may  be  thought  marvellous  enough  that  such  should 
be  the  characters  of  the  men  who  have  come  to  occupy 
high  places  in  the  kingdom  of  God? — there  we  find  a 
David,  a  crucified  thief,  a  Peter,  a  Magdalene.  But 
let  none  dare  to  blaspheme  against  the  counsel  of 
eternal  mercy!  I  much  fear,  that  if  the  door  by 
which  these  entered  heaven  were  shut,  we  should 
have  to  remain  outside.  I  greatly  fear  that  there  are 
many  of  us  who  daily  fall  like  Peter,  without  rising 
like  him.  Doubtless  if  truth  had  been  a  holier  thing 
in  his  eyes,  Peter  would  not  have  hesitated  a  single 
moment  to  risk  his  life  for  its  sake.  But  I  ask,  how 
sacred  is  truth  in  our  eyes  ?  Jeremiah  cried  in  his 
time,  "My  people  shooteth  lies  with  their  tongue,  it 
is  altogether  full  of  deceit;"  would  not  the  aged  pro- 
phet have  to  repeat  the  cry,  were  he  now  to  appear 
upon  our  streets,  or  in  our  courts  of  justice,  or  in  our 
social  assemblages.  I  do  not  now  inquire  concerning 
the  sincerity  with  which  men  act,  I  speak  at  present 
merely  of  the  sincerity  of  the  truthfulness  of  their 
resolution,  and  I  ask,  how  many  Christians  are  there 
even  in  this  assembly,  whose  firm  and  resolute  deter- 
mination it  is,  nowise  and  in  no  case  whatever,  to 
make  a  sacrifice  of  truth,  and  rather  to  risk  the  loss 
of  fortune,  honour,  life  itself,  than  utter  an  untruth  ? 
How  many  are  there  who,  with  resolute  hearts  and 


88  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

firm  persuasion,  can  make  this  saying  their  own: 
"Should  the  whole  universe,  with  all  its  millions  of 
creatures,  hang  by  one  thread  of  falsehood,  and  I 
knew  the  word  of  truth  that  could  cut  that  thread,  I 
would  say  it!"  Rare,  indeed,  are  such  sincere  and 
conscientious  lovers  of  truth.  On  the  other  hand, 
those  mean  spirits  are  numbered  by  thousands  and 
tens  of  thousands,  who,  although  they  might  blush  to 
confess  it,  still,  were  the  truth  known,  have  secretly 
come  to  an  understanding  with  themselves,  that  false- 
hood is  justifiable  in  every  case  where  truth  would 
bring  harm ;  aye,  even  where  it  is  thought  that  truth 
would  be  less  advantageous,  or  less  agreeable  for  peo- 
ple to  hear.  Do  not  our  tradesmen  make  use  of  a  lie 
to  excuse  themselves  for  a  neglect  of  duty,  without  a 
blush,  just  as  if  it  were  a  matter  of  course  ?  Does  not 
the  man  of  the  world  avail  himself  of  falsehood  as  one 
of  the  many  clever  and  commendable  ways  of  making 
himself  agreeable?  And  would  I  had  not  to  bring 
with  bitter  grief  this  very  charge  against  you  young 
men:  and  yet  surely  nothing  less  becomes  your  age 
than  cowardice,  and  what  is  falsehood  if  it  be  not  most 
pitiable  cowardice?  And  yet  has  not  falsehood  be- 
come even  among  you  in  certain  cases  the  rule !  Ye 
who  know  how  to  appreciate  the  charge  of  cowardice, 
will  ye  not  be  ashamed  of  the  cowardice  that  is  implied 
in  telling  a  falsehood?  0  triple  curse  of  lying, 
that  it  should  bring  dissimulation  even  among  those, 
the  glory  and  jewel  of  whose  age  is  to  be  found  in 
their  integrity  and  veracity !  And  let  not  him  who 
has  once  begun  to  withhold  from  sovereign  truth  her 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF   MEN.  89 

inalienable  rights  in  some  things,  let  him  not  imagine 
that  he  will  be  able  to  preserve  those  rights  inviolate 
in  others.  The  proverb  says,  'he  who  has  once  lied 
is  never  believed  again;'  and  another,  that  to  one 
lie  there  belong  seven  more.  If  you  have  but  in  a 
few  places  broken  down  the  fence  that  surrounds  this 
sacred  temple,  you  are  safe  no  longer  from  any  temp- 
tation. And  this  lying  generation  would  look  down 
with  pity  and  scorn  upon  Peter !  And  you  who  weakly 
vacillate  between  truth  and  falsehood,  as  often  as  the 
truth  would  make  you  a  few  guineas  poorer,  or  rob 
you  of  the  favour  of  a  vain  mortal,  you  would  cast  a 
stone  at  Peter,  the  disciple  who  at  least  had  courage 
to  follow  his  Master  at  the  imminent  danger  of  his 
life! 

Undoubtedly  it  is  true  that  Peter  did  not  sin  merely 
against  truth  in  general;  he  lied  against  that  truth 
which  was  to  him  the  most  sacred  of  all,  his  relation 
to  Christ;  hence  his  guilt  is  not  one-fold,  but  a  hun- 
dred-fold. But  will  this  consideration  exculpate  us? 
How  many  of  us,  then,  are  so  certain  of  their  strength 
as  to  be  able  confidently  to  say  that  under  no  possible 
circumstances  they  would  prove  treacherous  to  that 
which  they  regard  as  religious  truth  ?  In  a  time  when 
there  are  so  many  Pilates,  I  much  fear  the  number  of 
martyrs  would  not  be  great.  Were  the  days  of  bloody 
persecution  for  religion  to  return,  were  the  Romish 
Church  again  to  erect  her  scaffolds  and  light  her 
stakes,  were  the  days  to  come  in  which  the  fanaticism 
of  infidelity  like  that  which  deluged  France  with 
blood,  should  leap  upon  our  shore  and  brandish  the 


90  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

sword  over  the  heads  of  the  faithful,  how  many  of  us 
feel  confident  that  in  such  times  they  would  not  deny 
their  relation  to  Christ,  but  that,  in  the  words  of 
Christ,  they  would  hate  their  life  for  his  sake,  in  order 
to  find  it  again  in  life  eternal  ?  What !  we  would  do 
that — we  who  even  now  deny  our  relation  to  Christ 
that  we  may  escape  the  jest  of  a  scofi'er,  or  the  loss  of 
some  worldly  advantage  !  We  would  be  in  a  condi- 
tion to  give  up  our  lives  for  his  sake — we  who,  in 
order  to  save  ourselves  from  the  epithets  with  which 
they  brand  the  followers  of  Christ — in  order  that  peo- 
ple may  not  call  us  Methodists  or  Pietists,  sacrifice  so 
much  of  boldness  in  our  confession,  of  practical  carry- 
ing out  of  it  in  our  daily  walk  and  conversation,  so 
as  to  make  sure  first  of  enjoying  undisturbed  repose, 
and  an  unmolested  life  ?  0  surely  the  man  who  has 
not  acquired  sufficient  strength  to  endure  in  obedience 
to  His  command  even  a  little  scorn  and  contumely, 
for  his  Saviour's  sake,  surely  he  who  has  not  yet 
learned,  in  his  own  experience,  what  is  meant  by  those 
words  of  Peter,  "  Blessed  are  ye  when  ye  are  reproached 
for  the  name  of  Christ,  for  the  spirit  of  glory  resteth 
upon  you" — may  well  doubt  whether  he  would  in  the 
hour  of  trial  be  ready  to  part  with  his  life  for  the  sake 
of  his  God.  And  it  is  we  who  would  denounce  the 
apostasy  of  Peter,  and  forget  ourselves ! 

Brethren,  if  there  is  any  charge  of  universal  appli- 
cation, this  charge  of  falsehood  is  such.  There  is  not 
so  much  as  one  here  present  who  is  not  guilty  in  this 
particular,  not  one  who  has  not  cause  to  smite  upon 
his  breast  and  say,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner !" 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MENI  91 

Yes,  if  we  only  would  utter  that  cry !  For  all  our 
cowardly  falsehoods,  all  the  denials  of  Christ  of  which 
we  are  guilty,  shall  be  forgiven  us,  as  they  were  for- 
given to  Peter,  if  only  after  every  falsehood  and  every 
fall,  we  raise  ourselves  again  like  him.  But  do  we 
really  feel  our  sin  in  this  matter?  Do  we  take  deeply 
to  heart  the  untruthfulness  of  our  life,  our  cowardli- 
ness, our  denial  of  our  faith  both  by  speech  and  by 
silence  ?  Does  it  bring  the  blush  to  our  cheek  and  the 
tear  to  our  eye  to  be  caught  in  an  untruth  ?  And  when 
the  eye  of  conscience  looks  upon  us,  as  the  eye  of 
Jesus  looked  upon  the  fallen  disciple,  do  we  start, 
does  our  heart  misgive  us,  and  fill  our  eyes  with  tears 
of  penitence  ?  Or  do  we  turn  aside  our  eye,  in  order 
that  we  may  not  meet  its  glance,  and  undisturbed  go 
on  our  way?  After  every  such  unfaithfulness  do  we 
seek  retirement,  that  we  may  settle  our  account  with 
God  as  Peter  did  ?  Or,  do  we  return  to  our  com- 
panions with  conscience  unreconciled,  and  talk  with 
them  until  we  have  succeeded  in  dispersing  the  cloud, 
and  until  the  angry  voice  of  conscience  is  silenced  or 
forgotten?  Alas,  that  we  should  be  so  ready  to  note 
and  comment  upon  the  fall  of  a  David  and  a  Peter, 
and  make  so  little  of  their  penitence?  Doubtless 
there  are  many  among  us  who  daily  fall  like  Peter, 
but  who  do  not  daily  raise  themselves  like  Peter. 
Therefore  cast  not  a  stone,  say  not  a  reproaching 
word  against  him,  but  rather  against  yourselves,  against 
yourselves  many  of  whom  have  cried  with  Peter, 
"Lord,  to  whom  shall  we  go?  Thou  hast  the  words 
of  eternal  life!"     Yes,  let  us  see  in  Peter  to  what  a 


92  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

degree  the  heart  even  of  one  who  has  known  Christ 
may  waver  in  its  attachment  to  him. 

Who  shall  dare  to  judge  another 

When  he  falls  to  sin  a  prey, 
Or  exulting  view  a  brother 

Falter  on  life's  rugged  way? 

Look  in  sorrow,  not  in  anger — 

Let  his  fall  our  pity  wake ; 
Trembling  let  us  feel  our  danger, 

Let  us  timely  warning  take. 

0  thou  God  of  holiness,  seeing  that  the  weakness  of 
our  poor  human  heart  is  so  great,  deal  thou  with  us 
not  according  to  thy  justice,  but  according  to  thy 
mercy !  And  since  amid  the  constant  faltering  and 
falling  of  men,  no  sacrifice  is  more  well-pleasing  to 
thee  than  a  broken  heart  and  the  tears  of  penitence, 
0,  may  thy  Holy  Spirit  chasten  us  at  every  fall,  at 
every  denial  of  thy  name — so  that,  if  we  fall  like 
Peter,  we  may  also  rise  like  him.  0  Lord!  thou 
knowest  that  we  love  thee :  then  do  thou,  when  we  for- 
sake thee,  restore  us  again  to  the  privileges  of  thy 
children,  and  when  we  return,  do  thou  receive  us, 
Lord !     Amen. 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  93 


SERMON   VI. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  SAVIOUR's  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION 
MAKES  MANIFEST  IN  MARY,  THE  MOTHER  OF  OUR  LORD,  TO  WHAT 
A  HUMAN  HEART  MAY  BECOME  UNDER  THE  TRAINING  AND  DIS- 
CIPLINE OF  GOD. 

Luke  ii.  34,  35. — And  Simeon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto  Mary 
his  mother,  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and  rising  again  of 
many  in  Israel;  and  for  a  sign  which  shall  be  spoken  against; 
(yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce  through  thy  own  soul  also,)  that  the 
thoughts  of  many  hearts  may  be  revealed. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord !  We  have  seen  the  truth  of  that 
saying  of  Simeon  which  we  placed  at  the  head  of  our 
present  series  of  meditations,  proved  in  repeated 
instances.  We  have  indeed  witnessed  a  "revelation  of 
the  thoughts  of  many  hearts"  beneath  the  cross  of 
Christ — a  revelation  such  as  may  well  make  our  own 
heart  tremble.  But  I  then  promised  you,  that  it 
would  not  be  dark  abysses  of  the  human  heart  alone, 
which  would  open  before  our  view,  and  from  the  his- 
tory of  our  Saviour's  passion  we  were  also  to  learn 
what  a  human  heart  may  become  under  the  training 
of  God. 

The  time  of  our  Lord's  sufferings  and  resurrection 
was  peculiarly  a  time  of  spiritual  discipline.  There 
are  certain  epochs  in  human  life,  in  which  a  man  is 
all  at  once  unexpectedly  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God  a 
great  way  further  on  in  his  journey,  so  that  he  is  him- 
self surprised  at  it,  when  he  afterwards  looks  back 
upon  the  r^d.  Such  epochs  in  a  life-time  are,  gene- 
rally, periods  of  affliction.  It  is  only  those  hearts 
9 


94  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

across  whicli  tlie  plouglisliare  of  God  has  passed  in 
"which  the  seed  of  life  deeply  falls  and  quickly  grows. 
Now  the  week  of  our  Saviour's  passion  was  for  the 
disciples,  preeminently  a  time  in  which  the  plough  of 
God  went  over  them.  And  that  period  along  with  the 
Resurrection,  was  for  them  also  a  time  in  which  they 
were,  all  at  once,  advanced  further  upon  their  way 
than  they  had  been  throughout  the  whole  of  their  pre- 
vious life.  To  this  our  Lord  himself  refers,  when  he 
compares  the  circumstances  of  the  disciples  at  that 
time  to  those  of  a  woman  in  travail,  "who  when  her 
hour  is  come,  has  sorrow,"  but,  he  adds,  "  as  soon  as 
she  is  delivered  of  the  child,  she  remembereth  no  more 
the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into  the 
world."  The  man  to  be  born  was  the  new  man  of  the 
apostles  and  all  the  followers  of  the  Lord,  which  was 
born  out  of  that  season  of  affliction.  Doubtless  many 
a  precious  seed  had  fallen  into  their  soul  during  the 
period  of  their  intercourse  with  the  Saviour,  but  till 
then  it  had  not  sunk  deep  enough  into  the  soil  of  the 
heart.  Now,  however,  the  ploughshare  passed  over 
them,  the  seed  sank  deep,  and  when  on  the  day  of 
Pentecost  the  rain  of  God  came  down  to  water  it,  lo  1 
all  at  once  the  fair  stalk  of  corn  shot  forth.  This  is 
true  of  all  the  followers  of  Christ  who  were  at  that 
time  in  Jerusalem.  I  have  already  spoken  of  Nico- 
demus  in  this  connection:  and  what  I  said  of  him  is 
true  also  of  Peter,  Thomas,  John,  Mary  the  mother 
of  our  Lord,  and  all  the  rest.  Let  me  illustrate  what 
holds  good  of  them  all  by  the  example  of  two  of  them, 
of  Mary  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  and  Thomas.     You 


OF   THE   HEARTS    OF   MEN.  95 

recollect  that  it  was  with  special  reference  to  Mary 
that  the  saying  which  we  have  placed  at  the  head  of 
this  series  of  meditations  was  uttered — the  saying  of 
Simeon  that  spoke  of  the  revelation  of  the  hearts 
beneath  the  cross  of  Christ.  Let  us  then  take  once 
more  for  our  text  the  words  of  the  aged  prophet: 
''And  Swieon  blessed  them,  and  said  unto  Mary  Ms 
mother,  Behold,  this  child  is  set  for  the  fall  and 
rising  again  of  many  in  Israel;  and  for  a  sign  which 
shall  he  spoken  against;  {yea,  a  sword  shall  pierce 
through  thy  own  soul  also,)  that  the  thoughts  of  many 
hearts  may  he  revealed.'"  Luke  ii.  34,  35. 

The  sword,  which  pierced  the  heart  of  the  mother 
of  the  Lord,  severed  the  earthly  from  the  heavenly  in 
her  faith  and  in  her  love. 

And  thus  it  is,  that  we  see  revealed  beneath  the 
cross,  in  the  case  of  the  mother  of  our  Lord,  what, 
under  the  training  of  God,  a  pious  human  heart  may 
become.  In  order  to  recognize  this  more  clearly,  we 
must  go  back  to  the  very  beginning  of  her  spiritual 
training.  Then  we  shall  see  that  the  fatal  sword,  of 
which  the  old  man  spoke,  had  begun  to  pierce  her  soul 
already,  long  before  the  passion-week.  We  shall  con- 
template the  mother  of  the  Lord  as  hoping,  as  wait- 
ing,  as  looking,  as  tried,  and  as  purified. 

The  mother  of  the  Lord  as  hoping.  What  she 
hoped  for  was,  that  the  Word  would  become  flesh,  and 
that  He  whom  the  heaven  of  heavens  could  not  contain 
would  lie  upon  the  bosom  of  an  earthly  mother.  And 
as  God  never  exalts  any  one  who  does  not  first  humble 
himself,  so  it  happened  in  this  case  also.     The  virgin 


yb  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

who  was  chosen,  was  one  who,  in  her  humility,  could 
make  no  other  answer  to  the  heavenly  message  but 
this:  "He  hath  regarded  the  low  estate  of  his  hand- 
maiden." But  it  is  not  the  sublime  aspect  of  this 
virgin  humility,  it  is  not  the  nobility  and  purity  of  her 
mind  that  we  contemplate  this  day.  We  have  rather 
to  turn  our  attention  to  what  constituted  her  hopes: 
"  Thou  shalt  bring  forth  a  son,  to  whom  the  Lord  shall 
give  the  throne  of  his  father  David,  and  he  shall  reign 
over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever."  Such  was  the 
Divine  promise.  "That  can  be  none  other  but  the 
Messias,"  she  would  say  to  herself,  and  along  with  the 
thought  all  the  promises  and  hopes  of  the  Israel  of 
God  would  rise  in  a  moment  before  the  soul  of  that 
pious  handmaiden  of  the  Lord.  Doubtless  she  was  a 
member  of  that  little  company  who  waited  for  the 
consolation  of  Israel,  to  which  Simeon,  and  Anna, 
and  the  shepherds  of  Bethlehem  belonged.  She  well 
knew  the  promises  of  God  to  his  people.  And  so  her 
eye  would  now  run  along  the  chain  of  prophetic  utter- 
ances, up  to  that  first  scene  in  Eden.  And  all  the 
great  names,  which  prophecy  had  applied  to  the  De- 
sired of  nations,  would  come  with  a  new  rapture  before 
her  soul :  the  seed  of  the  woman,  who  should  bruise 
the  head  of  the  serpent;  the  seed  of  Abraham,  in 
whom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed ; 
the  offspring  of  the  tribe  of  Judah,  unto  which  the 
Gentiles  should  seek ;  the  Son  of  David,  whose  throne 
endureth  as  long  as  the  sun  endures.  Who  then  can 
wonder  if  her  high  and  holy  exultation  breaks  forth  in 
the  words,  "From  henceforth  all  generations  shall  call 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  9T 

me  blessed,  for — He  tliat  is  mighty  liath  done  to  me 
great  things."  But  prophecy  had  spoken  of  the 
future  in  a  multiplicity  of  different  figures,  which 
embraced  not  only  what  Christ  was  in  his  humiliation, 
but  also  what  Christ  should  be  throughout  the  whole 
history  of  his  Church,  and  what  he  shall  be  in  his 
glory  at  the  end  of  all  things.  For  all  this  was  com- 
prehended in  the  vision  of  futurity  which  opened  up 
before  the  prophets,  and  was  expressed  in  figures, 
borrowed  from  that  time.  Accordingly  the  expecta- 
tions of  the  Messias  among  the  people  were  very 
diverse.  Whatever  peculiar  wish  and  longing  filled  a 
heart  was  linked  on  to  the  appearance  of  Him,  whom 
they  had  significantly  called  the  consolation  of  Israel ; 
but  among  those  various  hopes  there  were  some  of  the 
meanest  and  some  of  the  most  exalted  character. 

And  here  I  would  make  a  remark.  We  hear  many 
talk  with  contempt  of  the  impure,  carnal  hopes  which 
Israel  indulged  regarding  the  Messiah.  But,  I  ask, 
are  the  hopes  with  which  many  Christians  cast  their 
eye  into  eternity  so  much  more  elevated?  Surely  your 
hope  for  heaven  in  eternity  is  to  be  found  in  your  hope 
of  a  heaven  in  time.  Is  there  not  much  of  earthly 
dross,  thoughts  of  mere  earthly  pleasures  mingled  with 
even  your  highest  and  best  hopes  of  heaven ;  and  will 
it  not  fare  with  the  carnal  expectations  which  many  a 
Christian  entertains  concerning  the  kingdom  of  God, 
as  at  the  appearance  of  Jesus  it  fared  with  the  false 
dreams  of  many  a  Jew  concerning  a  Messianic  king- 
dom upon  earth? 

Say,  blessed  mother!  in  what  colours  didst  thou 
9'*' 


98  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

picture  to  thyself  the  kingdom  of  thy  Son?  Didst 
thou  conjure  up  before  thee  a  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
with  golden  streets  and  pearly  gates,  through  which 
the  might  of  the  Gentiles  and  their  kings  should  be 
brought  in;  and  hast  thou  figured  to  thyself  the 
throne  of  thy  Son  and  of  thyself  as  more  glorious 
than  that  of  Bathsheba  in  the  days  of  king  Solomon  ? 
Beloved,  I  think  that,  from  what  is  recorded  of  that 
noble  woman,  we  may  draw  the  inference,  that  she  did 
not  form  to  herself  a  picture  of  the  future  at  all.  No ; 
that  humble  spirit  felt  too  deeply  that  she  could  not 
trust  herself  to  attempt  to  realize  the  glory  of  the  Son, 
without  incurring  the  danger  of  dwelling  on  the  pros- 
pect of  the  reflection  of  that  glory  which  would  fall  on 
the  mother.  No;  Mary  did  not  conjure  up  scenes  of 
future  pomp  and  glory :  but  Mary  prayed.  She  did 
not  feast  her  fancy  with  visions  of  coming  splendour ; 
no,  she  only  gave  thanks  to  God.  She  is  the  servant 
of  the  Lord,  who,  when  the  message  of  the  angel  is 
announced  to  her,  buries  all  other  thoughts,  and  ques- 
tions, and  imaginations  in  that  one  sublime  utterance, 
^'Behold  the  handmaid  of  the  Lord;  he  it  unto  me 
according  to  thy  word.''  In  her  noble  soul  all  other 
thoughts  were  united  in  this  thought :  He  is  Jesus,  that 
is,  the  Help  of  G-od.  For  the  Help  of  God,  for  that 
precious  name  of  Jesus,  she  gave  thanks.  If  we  are 
right  in  assuming  that  this  was  her  character — and 
the  intimations  of  the  sacred  narrative  would  seem  to 
warrant  us  in  so  doing — then  surely  the  Virgin  Mary 
is  a  heroine;   for  it  is  an  easier  task  to  conquer  a 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  99 

Goliatli  upon  the  battle-field  than  it  is  to  curb  the 
vagaries  of  an  idle  fancy. 

As  waiting.  The  star  of  Jacob  has  appeared.  He, 
to  whom  the  Gentiles  shall  seek,  is  born  in  the  inn  at 
Bethlehem.  Before  every  new-born  child  one  stands 
with  reverence,  I  might  almost  say,  and  at  the  same 
time  with  an  anxious  presentiment.  It  is  as  though 
one  were  looking  at  the  tiny,  softly  bubbling  spring 
from  which  the  little  brook  flows,  and  one  cannot  tell 
whether  that  brook  may  not  become  a  mighty  stream, 
which  shall  overflow  the  world.  With  what  feelings, 
then,  must  those  have  stood  around  the  child  Jesus, 
who  knew  that  that  little  rill  of  Shiloh  was  destined 
one  day  to  inundate  the  whole  world,  and  to  bring  all 
the  waters  of  the  earth  into  its  mighty  bed !  With 
what  feelings  must  the  mother  have  stood  there,  who 
knew  all  this,  and  yet  could  say.  It  is  my  child! 
Parents,  you  should  regard  each  of  your  children  as  a 
pledge  of  the  grace  of  God.  If  we  may  say  this  of 
every  morsel  of  bread  we  eat,  of  every  ray  of  sunshine 
that  falls  on  our  path,  0,  how  much  more  may  we  say 
it  of  the  noble,  the  god-like  gift  of  a  child !  Blessed 
then,  above  all  human  creatures,  blessed  the  mother 
who  received  that  child  as  a  pledge  of  grace !  For  as 
such  Mary  received  it,  as  a  pledge  and  a  seal  that 
God  was  her  Saviour.  For  that  she  thus  received  it, 
her  song  of  thanksgiving  proves:  "My  spirit  hath 
rejoiced  in  God  my  Saviour."  Yes,  Mary,  thou  hadst 
a  good  right  thus  to  sing,  for  to  what  mother  in  Israel 
did  God  come  so  near  in  grace  as  he  came  to  thee ! 

And  now  consider,  what  a  time  for  the  heart  of  the 


100  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

waiting  mother,  the  period  of  his  education  up  to  the 
day  of  his  public  manifestation  to  Israel  must  have 
been!  Might  she  not  from  the  first  expect,  that 
Heaven  would  shower  down  wondrous  and  unusual 
blessings  upon  this  child?  What  a  time  of  waiting 
that  must  have  been?  Will  a  Son,  who  has  no  other 
father  but  his  heavenly  Father,  will  such  a  Son  ever 
be  born?  this  was  her  first  anxiety.  Will  he  grow 
and  expand  amid  all  the  dangers  of  childhood  like  the 
other  children  of  Adam?  Will  not  angels  come  and 
strew  palms  in  his  way  as  he  walks  ?  Will  the  kings 
of  the  earth  not  hasten  to  lay  down  their  sceptres 
before  the  child  ?  Will  not  the  whole  earth  shout  for 
joy  when  the  divine  babe  first  opens  his  eye  upon  the 
light  of  the  world?  0  happy  thou,  modest  mother, 
in  that  thou  didst  not  indulge  in  such  idle  fancies ; 
for  thus,  at  least,  wast  thou  deceived  in  none  of  thy 
dreams.  For  behold,  when  the  royal  child  is  born, 
the  straw  of  the  manger  is  his  cradle ;  and  throughout 
the  wide  dark  night  the  world  is  dumb.  But  no,  all 
is  not  mute  in  the  regions  of  the  night.  If  the  earth 
is  silent,  the  heavens  will  speak :  and  from  the  firma- 
ment a  song  of  praise  is  heard 

"Loud  as  from  numbers  without  number,  sweet 
As  from  blessed  voices  uttering  joy." 

Earth  echoed  back  the  gladsome  sound,  for  never  had 
she  heard  such  melody  since  the  morning  of  creation, 
when  the  stars  sang  together,  and  the  sons  of  God 
shouted  for  joy.  And  a  star  of  heaven  left  its  azure 
way  to  guide  the  wise  men  of  the  East  to  the  place 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  101 

where  the  infant  Saviour  lay.  But  all  this  was  only 
the  passing  train  of  his  celestial  glory.  For  the  Word 
has  become  flesh,  and  is  now  lower  than  the  angels, 
and  even  in  the  cradle  he  is  despised  and  rejected  of 
men.  Already  round  the  manger  rages  the  fury  of 
Herod:  and  scarcely  is  he  born  when  already  the 
child  must  flee!  And  thus  from  the  very  first  the 
mother  of  the  Lord  had  to  wait,  and  to  believe  what 
she  could  not  see.  And  what  a  trial  of  her  faith, 
during  those  thirty  years,  in  which,  like  a  seed  in  the 
bosom  of  the  earth,  the  glory  of  the  only-begotten  of 
the  Father  was  veiled  in  obscurity.  Thirty  long  years 
went  by,  and  nothing  occurred.  Canst  thou  still 
wait  and  still  believe,  Mary?  John  the  Baptist, 
when  in  his  prison  preparing  for  death,  could,  even  at 
a  time  when  the  glory  of  the  Son  of  God  was  beginning 
to  unfold  itself,  send  with  carnal  impatience  to  inquire, 
*'Art  thou  He  that  should  come,  or  shall  we  look  for 
another?"  And  Mary,  who  knew  more  than  John 
did,  could  wait  all  the  thirty  years,  without  uncer- 
tainty, without  misgiving.  I  wonder  if  a  gentle  ques- 
tion would  never  rise  to  her  lips  ?  Surely  she  must 
have  asked,  if  not  by  words,  at  all  events  with  her 
maternal  eye.  But  possibly  what  the  Saviour  after- 
wards said,  "Woman,  mine  hour  is  not  yet  come,"  he 
may  have  had  occasion  to  say  before.  And  doubtless 
that  virgin  soul  would  not  need  any  other  answer  to 
make  her  content  to  wait,  in  patience  and — in  faith ! 

As  looking.  The  time  is  at  length  fulfilled.  Jesus 
is  baptized  in  the  Jordan,  in  order  that  he  may  be 
manifested  unto  Israel.     On  his  return,  he  meets  his 


102  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

mother  at  a  mariage  festivity  in   Cana  of  Galilee. 
Now  that  he  has  been  consecrated  to  the  Messiahship, 
she  thinks  the  time  must  have  come  at  last,  and  so 
with  all  the  modesty  of  a  heart  which  in  her  Son  sees 
her  King  and  Lord,  she  summons  him  to  action  with 
the  words,  "They  have  no  wine."     We  thought  our- 
selves warranted  in  assuming  that  this  mother  had  a 
deep   and   correct   understanding   of  her   Son,   even 
though  it  may  have  been  more  a  feeling  than  anything 
else.     But  is  not  this  idea  of  ours  contradicted  by  the 
request  she  now  makes?     What!  shall  the  glory  of 
God  be  revealed  at  a  marriage  ?  in  a  miracle  of  luxury 
and  convivial   superfluity?      Thus  many   a   one  has 
doubtless  asked.     But,  my  friends,  is  it  likely  that 
the  family  with  which  the  pious  Mary  stood  on  terms 
of  friendship,  could  have  been  addicted  to  excess  and 
dissipation  ?     Can  the  family,  which  even  on  such  an 
occasion  was  not  in  circumstances  to  furnish  sufficient 
wine  for  their  guests,  have  indulged  in  a  superfluity 
of  hospitality  ?     No ;  they  were  poor  and  pious  people, 
I  make  no  question,  just  4ike  Mary  herself;  and  the 
mother  well  surmises  what  is  in  the  purpose  of  her 
Divine  Son  when,  with  a  view  to  rejoice  the  heart  of 
such  a  household  on  the  occasion  of  that  family  fes- 
tival, she  asks  him  to  perform  a  work  of  love.     Had 
it  been  otherwise,  would  he  have  granted  what  was 
requested,  in  such  a  superabundant  measure?     And 
thus  was  the  glory  of  the  only-begotten  Son  of  the 
Father  manifested  for  the  first  time  in  the  circle  of 
his  disciples. 

And  now  came  the  days  in  which  the  blind  should 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  103 

see  and  the  deaf  hear,  and  the  dead  be  raised  up 
again;  when  the  heavens  opened  and  the  angels  of 
God  descended  and  ascended  upon  the  Son  of  man. 
And  what  were  the  emotions  which  now  filled  that 
mother's  heart?  Think  you  they  were  only  feelings 
of  jubilee  and  triumph?  0  no!  Even  in  this  time  of 
looking,  there  were,  I  think,  for  that  maternal  heart, 
amid  many  occasions  of  calm  joy,  also  times  of  sorrow 
for  the  present,  and  of  still  darker  presentiment  for  the 
future.  Must  she  not  have  seen  with  her  own  eyes 
the  contradiction  of  sinners  against  him  ?  But  why 
do  I  speak  of  the  opposition  of  his  people  ? — do  we  not 
read  that  even  his  own  brothers  and  kinsmen  did  not 
believe  in  him  ?  0  that  poor  tender  mother's  heart, 
which  even  among  her  own  children  and  immediate 
connections  can  find  no  heart  by  which  it  is  under- 
stood, into  which  it  may  pour  its  sorrow,  and  with 
which  it  may  share  its  calm  and  holy  joy !  And  what 
must  she  not  have  feared  from  the  future !  The  aged 
Simeon  had  turned  to  her  when  he  said,  "  This  child 
is  set  for  a  sign,  which  shall  be  spoken  against,  and  a 
sword  shall  pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also."  And 
we  read  immediately  after,  that  "  Mary  kept  all  these 
sayings  in  her  heart."  Ah  yes,  a  mother's  heart  does 
not  soon  forget  sayings  like  that.  When  at  the  word 
of  his  mouth,  the  blind  saw,  and  the  dead  came  out  of 
their  graves,  when  sinners  who  had  found  mercy  fell 
upon  their  knees  before  him,  and  the  children  cried 
Hosanna ! — doubtless  her  heart  shouted  for  joy — but 
all  the  while  the  eye  of  her  soul  saw  the  sword  hang- 
ing over  his  head,  and  over  her  own !     Therefore  if 


104  THE   CKOSS   A   REVEALER 

she  rejoiced  it  could  only  be  with  trembling.  The 
time  of  looking  was  thus  also  a  time  of  proving  for 
her,  days  of  constant  conflict  between  hope  and  fear. 
The  sword  had  already  begun  to  pierce  her  soul. 
Already  had  the  separation  in  her  faith,  between  what 
was  earthly  in  it  and  what  was  heavenly,  begun :  and 
the  final  sorrow  was  to  perfect  that. 

As  tried.  Mary  does  not  often  come  before  us 
during  the  period  of  our  Lord's  active  life — alas !  he 
is  hers  no  longer,  then;  he  belongs  to  the  world! 
"Who  is  my  mother?  and  who  are  my  brothers?  He 
that  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven" — that 
word  she  must  from  that  time  learn  to  understand, 
and  that  word  also  has  its  work  to  do  in  her  soul, 
piercing  into  soul  and  body,  joints  and  marrow.  She 
appears  but  seldom  in  his  company  from  the  period  of 
the  commencement  of  his  ministry ;  but  when  the  Son 
of  God  went  up  for  the  last  time  to  Jerusalem,  to  that 
altar  of  sacrifice  where  so  many  prophets  of  the  Most 
High  had  shed  their  blood,  there  to  fulfil  the  counsel 
which  God  had  appointed,  the  mother  cannot  have 
been  absent  then.  And  so  we  find  her  at  the  last 
Easter  feast  in  Jerusalem :  we  had  almost  lost  sight 
of  her  in  the  course  of  the  previous  history,  but  she 
appears  again  beneath  his  cross.  Yes,  there  she  stood 
through  those  six  weary  hours,  from  the  third  hour  to 
the  ninth,  there  she  stood  gazing  upon  that  counte- 
nance "full  of  wounds  and  blood,  full  of  scorn  and 
pain,"  and  upon  the  beloved  head  with  its  thorny 
crown.  She  saw  that  head  surrounded  with  the  light 
of  Heaven's  majesty,  when  he  said  to  the  dying  thief, 


OP   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  105 

"  This  day  slialt  tliou  be  with  me  in  paradise."  She 
saw  it  in  the  darkness  and  gloom  of  death,  when  he 
cried,  "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me!"  There  she  stood  when,  at  the  sixth  hour,  dark- 
ness enwrapped  the  cross,  and  nature  put  on  her  robe 
of  mourning  because  the  Lord  of  nature  was  dying. 
There  she  still  was,  as  even  in  the  midst  of  the  death- 
struggle  he  turned  his  eye  upon  her  and  said,  "  Woman, 
behold  thy  son!"  There  she  stood  when  he  bowed 
his  sorrow-laden  head  and  cried,  "Father,  into  thy 
hands  I  commend  my  spirit !" 

Can  we  contemplate  this  touching  scene  without 
feelings  similar  to  those  which  moved  the  ancient 
singer  to  exclaim : 

See  her  standing  by  the  cross 

In  her  untold  grief  so  lone, 
Ah!  she  weeps  the  double  loss 

Of  a  Saviour  and  a  Son ! 
Who  her  weary  woe  can  see 
And  not  weep  in  sympathy? 

Mary !  then  was  the  true  fulfilment  of  that  word  of 
prophecy,  then  indeed  a  sword  pierced  thy  soul! 
Surely,  then,  everything  that  was  earthly  about  her 
love  decayed  and  fell  away.  We  do  not  find  her  at 
the  sepulchre  of  Jesus.  When  they  all  went  with 
their  spices  to  anoint  his  body — Magdalene  and 
Salome,  Joanna  and  the  other  Mary — the  mother  of 
the  Lord  was  not  with  them.  No,  that  day  had  broken 
her  heart,  and  now  she  could  only  weep  and  pray. 
But  comfort,  Mary !  What  did  thy  Saviour  say  ?  "  A 
woman,  when  her  hour  is  come,  hath  sorrow ;  but  as 
10 


106  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

soon  as  the  child  is  born,  she  remembereth  no  more 
the  anguish,  for  joy  that  a  man  is  born  into  the  world." 
Comfort !  in  thee  too  shall  the  new  man  be  born. 
Thy  Son  hast  thou  lost,  but  thy  Saviour  thou  shalt  find 
again ! 

Lastly,  contemplate  the  mother  of  the  Lord  as  puri- 
fied. Mary,  thy  son  liveth !  We  learn  from  a  pas- 
sage in  Luke's  gospel,  that  on  the  day  of  the  resur- 
rection, when  the  apostles  were  assembled  together 
with  closed  doors,  like  a  timid  flock,  the  women  had 
also  joined  their  number.  And  doubtless  in  that 
happy  hour  when  the  disciples  of  Emmaus,  returning 
to  the  little  company,  exclaimed,  "The  Lord  is 
risen !"  and  at  once  the  glad  response  burst  from  every 
tongue,  "  The  Lord  is  risen  indeed  !"  and  when,  imme- 
diately after,  the  Risen  One  stood  in  their  midst  with 
the  resurrection-glory  about  his  brow  and  the  salva- 
tion of  peace  upon  his  lips — doubtless  the  mother  of 
the  Lord  was  present  in  that  blessed  hour.  When 
Mary  Magdalene  first  recognized  him  after  his  resur- 
rection, she  sinks  down  upon  her  knee  and  would  hold 
him — Magdalene,  hold  him  not,  for  sensibly  he  is 
thine  no  longer.  Henceforth  thou  shalt  know  him 
after  the  flesh  no  more,  but  alone  by  faith.  How  must 
those  last  forty  days,  which  elapsed  before  the  Lord's 
ascension,  have  served  to  accustom  the  disciples  to 
the  thought  that  he  was  theirs  thenceforward  no  other- 
wise than  in  a  spiritual  sense.  Where  then  did  he 
dwell  during  those  forty  days  in  which  he  comes  to  them 
only  at  intervals  as  an  apparition  from  a  higher 
world?     Already  he  belongs  to  the  earth  no  more, 


OF    THE    HEARTS    OF    MEN.  107 

already,  although  his  real  glorification  has  not  yet 
begun.  And  Mary  too  must  accustom  herself  to  this, 
she  must  learn  to  bear  the  gradual  loosening  of  the 
sensible  tie  which  bound  the  Son  to  the  earthly 
mother.  The  hour  of  his  final  departure  came  at 
length.  The  disciples  go,  in  obedience  to  their  Mas- 
ter, to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  so  recently  the  scene  of 
sorrow,  now  to  become  the  scene  of  parting.  We  do 
not  read  that  the  women  accompanied  them :  it  is  pos- 
sible, however,  that  here  too  they  were  not  wanting. 
The  cloud  spreads  out  beneath  him,  the  hands  are 
raised  to  bless — hands  which  have  blessed  all  his  life 
long — he  is  received  out  of  their  sight.  And  of  his 
disciples  we  read  that  "they  worshipped  him,  and 
returned  to  Jerusalem  with  great  joy." 

And  from  that  day  forward,  Mary  lifts  up  her 
hands  in  prayer,  to  Him  whom  those  hands  had 
borne.  For  the  season  of  trial  has  done  its  work, 
and  has  brought  forth  the  peaceable  fruits  of  right- 
eousness. And  the  sword  which  has  so  deeply 
pierced  her  soul  has  severed  effectually  the  earthly 
from  the  heavenly  in  her  love.  Her  Son  has  she  lost, 
but  she  has  found  her  Saviour  !  "  Now  ye  have  sor- 
row," he  had  said  when  he  was  on  the  earth,  "but  I 
will  see  you  again  and  your  heart  shall  rejoice,  and 
your  joy  no  man  taketh  from  you."  .  And  so  to  Mary 
he  came  again  in  the  Spirit,  and  gave  her  a  joy  which 
no  man  could  take  away  from  her.  And  full  of  that 
joy  she  died  in  the  arms  of  that  disciple  whom  Jesus 
loved. 

Beloved,  the  way  which  Mary  went  is  our  way  too. 


108  THE    CROSS    A    REVEALER 

It  is  only  through  the  death  of  the  old  man,  that  the 
new  man  can  be  born.  The  history  of  the  Passion 
has  opened  for  us  a  glance  into  some  dark  and  deep 
abysses  in  the  human  heart;  but  let  the  case  of  the 
mother  of  our  Lord  teach  us,  that  if  the  sin  of  man 
is  great,  the  training  grace  of  God  is  great  too.  And 
especially  bear  in  mind  that  in  our  case,  as  in  that  of 
Mary,  our  love  to  the  Lord  must  be  purified  by  days 
of  sorrow  like  hers.  Is  there  not  in  all  of  us  the  germ 
of  that  love — of  love  to  him  who  is  so  full  of  grace 
and  truth?  But,  although  Christ  is  before  us,  I  fear 
we  have  not  Christ  in  us.  We  love  him  because  we 
see  him  with  the  mental  eye,  but  we  do  not  love  him 
"whom  we  see  not."  If  we  would  learn  thus  to  love 
him,  if  we  would  have  our  love  ennobled  and  refined, 
if  we  would  that  Christ  should  take  up  his  abode  in 
us — then  we  must  take  our  stand  beneath  his  cross, 
and  beneath  his  cross  have  our  faith  made  pure. 
And  should  the  sword  pain  you  as  it  pierces  your 
heart,  still  let  not  that  make  you  swerve.  When  Mary 
breathed  out  her  spirit  in  the  arms  of  the  disciple 
whom  Jesus  loved,  0 !  then  she  had  forgotten  all  the 
sorrows  of  her  life,  and  her  sighs  had  all  passed  away. 
And  thus  will  it  be  with  those  of  you  who  have  under- 
gone the  purifying  discipline  of  the  ^ross  of  Christ. 
When  the  end  draws  near,  all  our  sighs  and  tears 
shall  have  passed  away,  but  our  rejoicing  over  the 
new  man  which  has  been  born  beneath  the  cross,  0 ! 
that  shall  remain  with  us,  and  it  shall  carry  us  over 
into  eternity! 

0  eternal  Love,  thus  do  thou  educate  and  train  us 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF   MEN.  109 

for  heaven  and  for  thee !  Beneath  the  cross  of  th j 
Son,  do  thou  purify  our  love  to  him  of  all  in  it  that  is 
sensible,  of  all  that  is  passing,  and  even  should  it  be 
amid  a  thousand  pains,  0 !  let  the  new  man  be  born 
within  us !     Amen. 


SERMON   VII. 

THE  HISTORY  OF  OUR  SAVIOUR's  DEATH  AND  RESURRECTION  MAKES 
MANIFEST  IN  THOMAS  WHAT  A  HUMAN  HEART  MAY  BECOME 
UNDER    THE    TRAINING    OF    GOD. 

John  xx.  29.— Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thomas,  because  thou  hast 
seen  me,  thou  hast  believed :  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen, 
and  yet  have  believed. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord:— The  history  of  the  Passion- 
week  has  opened  to  us  many  a  deep  and  many  a  pain- 
ful view  of  the  human  heart.  But  the  narrative  of 
the  days  which  immediately  follow  the  resurrection 
presents  us  with  others  which  are  refreshing  and  com- 
forting. We  witness  changes  coming  over  the  hearts 
of  the  followers  of  our  Lord,  which  disclose  to  us 
that  those  days,  at  once  days  of  tears  and  days  of 
transport,  were  for  them  a  blessed  time  of  spiritual 
training.  We  learn  what  can  be  made  out  of  a 
human  heart  by  the  educating  hand  and  guiding  eye 
of  the  Lord.  This  has  been  already  shown  to  us  in 
the  case  of  Mary.  It  now  only  remains  for  us,  fur- 
ther, to  illustrate  the  same  truth  as  in  the  case  of 
Thomas :  and  with  him  we  shall  close  this  series  of 
meditations. 
10* 


110  THE    CROSS   A    REVEALER 

It  were  extremely  desirable,  beloved,  that  we  had 
possessed  a  full  account  and  biography  of  each  of  the 
Apostles.  Would  it  not  have  been  a  special  boon  for 
you,  ye  students  of  theology,  to  have  had  such  a 
record,  you  who  are  -one  day  to  go  forth,  like  them, 
as  messengers  of  the  Gospel  to  men?  As  it  is,  how- 
ever, it  is  only  with  regard  to  a  few  of  the  Apostles 
that  we  are  in  circumstances  to  form  an  opinion  as  to 
their  natural  character.  Still  we  know  enough  to  be 
able  to  say,  that  they  were  men  of  characters  widely 
different:  so  that  we  may  with  confidence  lay  down 
this  statement,  that  when  Christ  chooses  his  messen- 
gers, the  consideration  which  influences  him  is  not 
what  a  man  is  by  nature,  but  rather  what  may  be 
made  out  of  him  by  grace.  "A  man  must  be  drawn 
by  the  Father:"  on  that  everything  depends.  And 
they  all  were  drawn  by  the  Father  to  the  Son:  Judas 
even  not  excepted.  In  proof  that  even  Judas  was 
drawn  by  the  Father,  we  have  the  words  of  Christ 
himself,  when  he  said  that  none  of  those  whom  the 
Father  had  given  him  were  lost,  save  the  son  of  per- 
dition. (John  xvii.  12.)  The  Lord  chose,  as  you 
know,  the  twelve  Apostles  as  representing  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel;  but  it  seems  to  me,  if  we  knew  these 
twelve  a  little  more  intimately,  we  should  find  that 
they  represent  a  great  deal  more  than  this,  we  should 
see  in  them  types  of  the  most  widely  different  charac- 
ters; nay  more,  I  doubt  not,  that  every  one  of  us 
should  be  able  to  find  the  image  of  himself  exactly 
reflected  in  one  of  those  twelve  men.  There  were 
men  among  them  of  whom  one  would  say,  that  by  na- 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF    MEN.  Ill 

ture  thej  were  quite  unsuited  for  the  position  assign- 
ed them  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  ay,  even  for  that 
kingdom  at  all.  And  this  we  must  say  of  Thomas. 
Thomas  had  a  peculiarity  with  regard  to  which  one 
really  must  think  that  it  was  of  such  a  character  as 
to  render  him  unfit  for  the  kingdom  of  God,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  apostolic  office.  There  are  but  three 
incidents  recorded  of  him  in  the  New  Testament,  and 
they  all  lead  us  to  the  conclusion  that  he  belonged, 
indubitably,  to  that  class  of  men,  who,  before  they 
can  believe,  must  first  see  with  their  bodily  eyes. 
Scofi*ers  talk  of  the  Apostles  as  if  they  had  been  the 
most  credulous  people  in  the  world.  Now,  of  Thomas 
at  least  they  cannot  say  this,  for  he  was  evidently  by 
no  means  easy  of  belief,  but  was,  on  the  contrary,  one 
of  those  cautious  and  incredulous  people  who  must 
feel  the  ground  on  which  they  set  their  foot,  and  who 
will  make  no  leap  over  a  ditch  whose  dimensions  they 
have  not  first  duly  measured.  Well,  is  it  not  strange 
to  find  such  characters  among  the  Apostles?  Surely, 
of  all  others,  such  critical  natures  are  least  suited  to 
be  disciples  of  Him  who  said,  "He  who  does  not 
receive  the  kingdom  of  heaven  as  a  little  child,  shall 
in  no  wise  enter  therein."  Nevertheless  we  see  that 
even  such  circumspect  and  sceptical  characters  are 
not  necessarily  on  that  account  shut  out  from  the 
kingdom  of  God.  Take  courage  then,  ye  men  with 
souls  like  Thomas,  for  the  only  thing  really  indispen- 
sable is,  that  the  Father  draw  the  heart  to  the  Son. 
If  you  have  this,  then  all  is  well,  for  whoever  feels 
himself  drawn  to   Christ  may  be  quite  certain  that 


112  THE    CROSS   A    REVEALER 

Christ  will  educate  and  train  him  for  himself.  Let 
us,  then,  contemplate  this  in  the  history  of  Thomas; 
and  let  us  take  for  our  text  those  words  in  which  the 
Saviour  has  described  him,  in  what  he  was  as  well  as 
in  what  he  wanted:  they  occur  in  John  xx.  29. 

"  Thomas,  because  thou  hast  seen  me,  thou  hast 
believed:  blessed  are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet 
have  believed.'' 

Let  us  contemplate  this  saying  of  our  Lord  in  itself, 
in  its  application  to  Thomas,  and  finally,  in  its  appli- 
cation to  ourselves. 

Is  not  this  a  strange  saying  ?  Have  you  not  heard 
it  often  in  the  mouth  of  the  scoffer?  The  Proverb 
says,  "Who  soon  believes  is  soon  deceived."  And 
certainly  for  the  affairs  of  every-day  life,  this  maxim 
of  believing  what  is  not  seen  does  not  hold  good,  as 
Scripture  itself  admits.  We  find  it  said  in  the  Bible, 
and  in  that  very  book  of  the  Bible  which  contains 
what  people  call  the  maxims  of  worldly  prudence — in 
the  Proverbs  of  Solomon — that  "a  fool  believeth 
everything;"  and  in  Sirach  we  read,  *' Believe  not  all 
that  thou  hearest,  for  he  that  believeth  quickly  is 
thoughtless."  And,  indeed,  what  would  become  of 
our  earthly  life,  if  one  were  to  make  it  a  rule  every- 
where to  believe  without  seeing?  However,  my 
friends,  we  know  that  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  did  not 
come  into  the  world  to  instruct  us  how  to  plant  and 
to  sow,  how  to  make  bargains  and  carry  on  business, 
and  so  this  saying  is  not  intended  to  be  a  maxim  to 
regulate  the  transactions  of  civil  life,  but  a  rule  to 
guide  us  to  eternal  life.     Nevertheless,  let  me  pause 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF   MEN.  113 

a  moment  to  glance  at  the  relations  of  this  our  earthly 
life.  You  ask,  what  would  become  of  it,  if  people 
were  everywhere  to  believe  before  they  saw.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  let  me  ask,  what  would  become  of  us, 
if  we  never  did  believe  before  we  saw?  if  the  wife  did 
not  believe  the  husband,  the  child  his  parents,  the 
friend  his  friend?  What  would  become  of  trade  and 
commerce,  of  human  intercourse  of  every  kind,  if  faith 
and  mutual  confidence  were  taken  away?  Or,  if  the 
husbandman  would  not  go  to  the  plough  until  he  was 
certain  that  Heaven  would  send  no  failure  of  his  crops, 
and  the  seaman  would  not  spread  the  sail  to  the  breeze 
until  he  was  certain  that  no  storm  would  send  him  to 
the  bottom  of  the  ocean  ?  I  ask,  how  have  men  per- 
formed their  proudest  achievements,  by  circumspec- 
tion and  distrust,  by  calculation  of  probabilities,  or  by 
the  power  of  faith  and  confidence?  Take  the  noblest 
deeds  of  the  greatest  warriors,  and  do  they  not  them- 
selves acknowledge  that  it  was  that  internal  confidence 
which  lies  beyond  all  calculation  and  all  theories  of 
probabilities;  that  inspiration  of  the  moment  in  junc- 
tures calling  for  immediate  decision,  that  raised  them 
to  be  the  rulers  of  destiny.  Take  away  confidence 
and  faith  out  of  human  life,  put  everywhere  circum- 
spection and  certainty  in  their  place,  and  you  take 
away  from  human  life  not  only  one  of  its  most  power- 
ful impulses,  but  also  a  source  of  its  purest  joys. 

But  unquestionably  the  domain  to  which  this  saying 
of  our  Lord  properly  belongs,  is  the  domain  of  reli- 
gion; in  proof  of  which,  instead  of  speaking  of  the 
religion  of  a  nation,  people  are  accustomed  to  speak 


114  THE    CROSS   A    REVEALER 

at  once  of  their  faith.     There  are,  as  we  liave  just 
seen,  some  things  in  common  life,  to  the  existence  of 
which  no  eje-sight  can  testify,  which  can  be  laid  hold 
of  by  faith  alone,  as,  for  instance,  the  trustworthiness 
of  a  friend,  or  the  success  of  an  enterprise.     But  reli- 
•  gion  has  to  do  exclusively  with  such  things.    "Eaith," 
says  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "  is  the  certain  assur- 
ance  of  things   hoped   for,    and"    (for   thus  it  runs 
according  to  the  original  text)  "the  proof  of  things 
not   seen."     Faith,   then,   is    a   conviction   of   divine 
things,  which  is  grounded  on  the  internal  testimony 
of  the  Spirit  so  strongly,  that  the  apostle  does  not 
hesitate  to  call  this  conviction  an  evidence  or  proof. 
And  with  what  other  eyes  than  the  eyes  of  faith  is  it 
possible  for  a  man  to  see  heaven  and  hell,  God  and 
the  devil,  blessedness   and  judgment,  forgiveness  of 
sins  and  damnation — with  what  eye  but  that  of  faith 
can  a  man  see  all  these  things  ?    But,  perhaps,  you  say 
it  is  otherwise  with  those  works  of  God  in  history. 
But  tell  me,  have  those  deeds  no  other  evidence  for 
us  than  that  of  any  other  historical  fact?     Have  the 
manger  of  Bethlehem  and  the  Mount  of  Transfigura- 
tion, the  cross  of   Calvary  and   the  ascension  from 
Mount  Olivet,  the  bread  that  five  thousand  ate,  and 
Lazarus  who  was  raised  from  the  dead — have  all  these 
things  for  us  no  other  kind  of  certainty  than  that  with 
which  we  receive  any  other  narrative  of  history?     Or 
is  it  not  rather  true  that  they  too  are  united  by  a 
sacred  bond  to  our  inmost  heart,  and  are  merged  in 
that  testimony  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  which  speaks  to  us 
of  Christ  as  the  Son  of  the  living  God,  and  of  the  Bible 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  115 

as  tlie  word  of  God  ?  Have  not  those  facts  tlieir  deep- 
convincing  power  for  us,  tlirongh  tlieir  connection  with 
that  sacred  truth,  on  behalf  of  which  the  Spirit  of 
God  gives  such  incontestable  testimony  in  our  hearts  ? 
And  do  you  not  feel  that,  in  proportion  as  the  record 
of  the  Holy  Scriptures  is  left  without  this  connection 
with  our  most  sacred  convictions,  they  lose  for  us 
their  certainty  and  their  power  ?  But  what  ?  Have  I 
forgotten  to  speak  of  an  eye  for  divine  things  which 
looks  far  beyond  the  eye  of  faith  as  it  looks  beyond 
the  eye  of  sense  ?  Have  I  forgotten  the  noblest  eye 
for  divine  things,  the  eye  of  science  ?  But  why  do  I 
ask  if  I  have  forgotten  it  ?  Christ  forgot  it,  when  he 
directed  Thomas  away  from  the  eye-witness  of  sense 
to  faith  instead  of  science. 

My  friends,  let  us  not  ignore  the  true  position  and 
dignity  of  faith.  It  is  science,  you  say,  that  furnishes 
you  with  evidence  in  divine  things  as  well  as  in  others ; 
but  what,  let  me  ask,  what  is  it  that  impels  you  to  go 
in  search  of  that  evidence  at  all  ?  Were  it  not  that 
the  eternal  truths  were  entwined  by  faith  around  your 
inmost  heart,  ay,  and  had  you  not  a  faith  in  divine 
things  or  ever  you  are  aware,  would  you  let  these 
scientific  investigations  cost  you  labour  and  pain  even 
for  a  single  minute  ?  Do  you  not  hear  sounding  from 
a  thousand  lips,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left, 
"i" ne'er  the  might  of  such  a  longing  knew." 

That  bursting  germ  from  which  the  impulse  towards 
divine  things  grows,  is — 0  doubt  it  not ! — is  faith. 
But  this  knowledge  must  also  prove  itself  to  be  a 
power  in  life,  for  much  depends  on  that.     And  how 


116  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

otherwise  can  this  happen  than  thus,  that  this  know- 
ledge re-acts  upon  the  heart,  and  plants  faith  there. 
Every  one  of  jou  must  have  felt  that  it  is  possible 
to  know  a  truth  intellectually,  without  its  becoming 
a  power  in  your  life.  That  it  never  can  become 
until  it  is  deeply  experienced,  until  it  beats  in  your 
every  pulse,  until  it  breathes  through  all  your  soul. 
Dare  I  call  a  truth  really  mine  for  which  I  have  not 
found  a  testimony  in  that  region  of  my  mind  which 
is  preeminently  myself  in  my  own  internal  conscious- 
ness and  experience  ?  Look  at  history,  and  what  do 
you  see  there?  What  gave  the  martyr  that  joy  with 
which,  for  his  God,  he  could  mount  the  martyr-pile, 
and  look  with  steady  eye  into  the  surrounding  flames  ? 
Was  it  the  series  of  proofs  of  the  being  of  that  God 
which  he  had  conned  in  the  dust  and  toil  of  the 
schools  ?  Or,  when  the  icy  hand  of  death  is  laid  upon 
your  forehead,  will  a  chain  of  subtle  reasonings  be  the 
refuge  to  which  you  resort,  in  order  to  find  support 
and  strength  to  look  the  king  of  terrors  in  the  face 
like  a  man,  and  with  an  "I  know  Him  in  whom  I 
have  believed,"  go  away  into  eternity?  0  my  friends, 
even  if  our  knowledge  really  were  the  clue  which 
could  lead  us  safely  through  the  labyrinth  of  life,  even 
were  it  the  guide  to  bring  us  across  life's  thorny  paths, 
still,  believe  me,  it  is  not  to  be  relied  upon  in  the 
hour  of  death.  In  that  hour  the  light  of  evidence 
fades  away  from  before  the  clearest  mental  eye,  and 
the  only  support  then,  is  in  the  strength  of  faith.  And 
so  we  may  say:  that  as  faith  in  divine  things  is  the 
root  from  which,  pressed  forward  by  the  impulse  to- 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  117 

wards  the  light,  the  tree  of  all  knowledge  in  divine 
things  shoots  up :  so  to  this  root  the  tree  must  ever 
bend  down  its  branches.  Knowledge  does  indeed 
impart  light  to  the  first  obscure  impulse  of  faith ;  but 
the  power  which  bears  thee  through  life,  and  holds 
thee  up  in  death,  is  faith  alone. 

Thus  we  have  seen  what  believing  is ;  and  now  let 
us  turn  to  the  disciple  who  would  see  before  he  be- 
lieved. Thomas  has  already  come  before  us  as  a  slave 
of  eye-sight,  and  one  poor  in  the  celestial  power  of 
faith,  in  that  portion  of  the  sacred  narrative  to  which, 
on  a  recent  occasion,  we  directed  your  attention.  I 
refer  to  the  trait  which  is  recorded  of  him  when  the 
Lord  was  preparing  to  go  into  Galilee,  and  the  disci- 
ples were  endeavouring  to  dissuade  him  from  it  because 
of  the  danger  of  the  journey.  With  that  strong  inter- 
nal confidence  which  guided  all  his  steps,  the  Lord 
referred  them  to  that  hour  in  the  world's  timepiece 
which  the  Divine  purpose  had  appointed,  which  could 
not  strike  before  he  had  accomplished  his  work. 
"Are  there  not  twelve  hours  in  the  day?"  he  said. 
If  any  man  walk  in  the  day  he  stumbleth  not." 
With  this  calm  assurance  the  Saviour  spoke.  "Let 
us  also  go  with  him,  that  we  may  die  with  him,"  cried 
Thomas!  Yes,  these  words  are  doubtless  a  proof  of 
his  love ;  and  in  this  respect  we  may  well  humble  our- 
selves before  him,  for  his  love  to  the  Lord  is  so  great 
that  to  him  the  thought  of  dying  is  more  tolerable  than 
the  thought  of  parting  from  his  Master.  But  for  his 
faith,  it  must  be  confessed,  those  words  do  not  say 
much.  Had  it,  indeed,  been  the  utterance  of  a  heroic 
11 


118  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

courage,  looking  steadily  in  the  face  the  fortune  God 
had  allotted  to  him,  that  would  have  been  a  very  dif- 
ferent thing.  But  it  is  the  speech  of  a  feeble  pusil- 
lanimous spirit,  which  would  fain  flee  from  the  destiny 
God  appoints  to  it,  if  it  could.  As  far  as  he  could 
calculate,  he  saw  only  danger.  But,  Thomas,  why 
canst  thou  not  look  in  faith  to  that  finger  of  the 
world's  clock  to  which  thy  Master  directs  thee,  why 
canst  thou  not  believe  as  he  tells  thee,  that  that  finger 
cannot  point  to  the  twelfth  hour  one  moment  sooner 
than  in  the  eternal  counsel  of  God,  the  time  is  come? 
And  if  that  time  is  already  come,  and  already  the 
twelfth  hour  is  striking,  why  dost  thou  look  with 
faint-heartedness,  and  not  with  joy,  upon  that  death 
which  comes  to  thee  not  by  human  appointment  but 
by  the  will  of  God  ?  But  as  he  only  calculates  and 
does  not  believe,  he  can  only  see  what  happens  upon 
earth,  not  what  is  decreed  in  heaven. 

We  recognize  this  same  reflecting  spirit  in  another 
passage,  where,  however,  it  shows  itself  in  an  inoff'en- 
sive  way.  When  the  Lord,  who  had  so  long  spoken 
of  his  going  to  the  Father,  said  to  the  disciples, 
"Whither  I  go  ye  know,  and  the  way  ye  know," 
Thomas  puts  the  question,  *'Lord,  we  know  not  whi- 
ther thou  goest,  and  how  can  we  know  the  way?'* 
He  wishes  clearly  to  understand  the  whole,  and  who 
would  not  approve  of  understanding  in  its  proper 
place.  But  understanding  has  its  limits — there  are 
boundaries  which  it  cannot  pass — wide  regions  where 
it  cannot  come.  A  pilgrim's  stafi"  is  a  good  thing  so 
long  as  one  treads  the  earth,  but  whoever  wishes  to  go 
to  heaven  requires  wings,  and  the  spirit's  wing  i^  faith. 


OF    THE    HEARTS    OF    MEN.  119 

Thus  diffident  as  we  have  described  him,  Thomas 
now  went  up  to  Jerusalem  to  that  last  feast  of  pass- 
over  with  a  fearful  and  doubting  heart.  And  the 
fulness  of  time  was  now  come,  and  the  finger  of  the 
great  world-clock  pointed  to  the  twelfth  hour  of  which 
the  Saviour  had  spoken;  and  the  twelfth  hour  struck, 
and  it  was  night.  But  the  terrors  of  Gethsemane 
and  Calvary  at  length  passed  over  the  disciples,  and 
the  quiet  Sabbath  dawned,  after  that  eventful  week, 
but  ah,  not  their  hope,  for  the  Sun  of  their  life  had 
set,  and  might  never  rise  again.  And  now  that  for 
the  calculating  and  the  unbelieving  all  was  over,  I 
wonder  what  were  the  feelings  of  Thomas?  Even  the 
other  disciples  had,  as  we  know,  no  certain  hope  that 
the  Sun  of  their  souls  would  rise  from  the  darkness  of 
death  in  brighter  and  imperishable  glory.  But  one 
thing  they  knew,  that  he  ivould  certainly  rise  again  in 
some  way,  that  all  was  not  over.  The  state  of  their 
feelings  at  that  time  is  very  clearly  seen  from  those 
words  of  the  two  disciples  of  Emmaus:  "We  trusted," 
said  they,  "that  it  had  been  He  which  should  have 
redeemed  Israel ;  and  besides  all  this,  to-day  is  the 
third  day  since  those  things  were  done."  Now  only 
they  could  speak  thus,  who,  although  without  any  cer- 
tainty what  should  happen,  nevertheless  were  con- 
vinced that  something  must  happen — and  that  the 
history  of  the  Redeemer  of  Israel  could  not  close  in 
the  tomb  of  Joseph  of  Arimathea.  In  this  twilight 
of  hope  did  they  go,  on  the  morning  of  the  third  day, 
to  his  grave;  and  when  at  length  he  for  whom  they 
longed  was  restored  to  them  again,  so  lively  was  their 


120  THE    CROSS   A   REVEALER 

hope  that  faith  was  easy  for  them,  and  they  at  once 
believed  that  it  was  He.  But  faint-hearted  Thomas, 
how  was  it  then  in  thy  soul?  After  the  sun  had  set, 
did  a  gloaming  of  hope  remain  also  for  thee,  or  was  it 
altogether  night  with  thee  ?  It  must  haVe  been  night 
with  Thomas,  for  had  he  still  cherished  hope,  it  would 
not  have  been  so  difficult  for  him  afterwards  to  have 
believed.  Then  again,  had  he  too  felt  confident  that 
all  was  not  over,  and  that  it  was  impossible  that  all 
the  hopes  of  this  mortal  life  lay  for  ever  buried  in  the 
tomb  of  Joseph,  surely  the  faintest  sound  of  the  intel- 
ligence of  that  Easter-morning  would  have  sufficed  to 
set  his  heart  on  fire.  How  must  then  the  testimony 
of  his  own  heart  have  supplied  any  want  of  certainty 
and  force  in  the  testimony  of  his  friends.  What! 
couldst  thou  stand  in  that  circle  where,  but  a  few  hours 
before,  fear  had  sat  on  every  face  and  a  tear  on  every 
eye,  but  where  now  the  words,  He  is  risen!  He  is 
risen!  ring  from  every  joyous  tongue;  and  couldst 
thou  stand  alone  doubting  then?  Did  no  amen  of 
hope  arise  within  thy  heart?  Couldst  thou  deli- 
berately require  three  proofs  that  he  was  risen,  ere 
thou  wouldst  believe?  "Except  I  shall  see  in  his 
hands  the  print  of  the  nails,  and  put  my  jinger  into 
the  print  of  the  nails,  and  thrust  my  hand  into  his 
side,  I  will  not  believe?"  0  too  circumspect  and  cau- 
tious soul !  how  feeble  must  thy  hope  have  been,  else 
had  faith  not  been  so  difficult  for  thee.  And  yet, 
beloved,  his  doubt  is  a  matter  of  deep  interest  to  us. 
All  things  must  work  together  for  good  to  them  that 
love  God.     And  the  effect  of  Thomas's  doubting  is 


OF   THE    HEARTS    OF    MEN.  121 

designed  to  be,  to  prevent  us  from  doubting.  Thomas 
doubted  thus,  that  all  who  doubt  like  him  might  be 
convinced  like  him. 

You  are  astonished  at  his  scepticism ;  be  astonished 
then  likewise  at  his  faith,  after  the  Lord  had,  in  infi- 
nite condescension,  satisfied  even  the  presumptuous 
demands  of  his  doubt. 

Eight  days  had  passed  away;  for  the  believing  fol- 
lowers of  Christ,  days  of  calm  contentment,  though 
doubtless  not  unmingled  with  anxiety  and  longing, 
but  for  Thomas  they  had  been  days  of  comfortlessness. 
Once  more  Jesus  stood  in  the  midst  of  them  with  the 
salutation  of  peace  again  upon  his  lips.  The  superior 
knowledge  by  which,  as  the  Lord  at  once  gives  the 
disciples  to  know,  he  is  aware  of  his  daring  speech, 
must  at  once  have  gone  home  to  his  heart.  Now, 
Thomas,  thou  hast  what  thou  wantedst,  put  him  to  the 
proof,  behold  he  ofiers  himself  to  thee.  But  lo !  all 
his  tests  are  forgotten  in  the  very  moment  when  he 
could  apply  them:  and  the  power  of  faith  which  had 
never  been  altogether  extinguished  in  his  heart,  but 
only  suppressed,  in  a  moment  makes  good  its  rights. 
The  beloved  countenance  of  the  Holy  One  is  there 
before  him  again,  and  upon  its  features  the  light  of 
the  resurrection-morning  rests.  The  beloved  voice,  so 
often  heard  before,  again  falls  upon  his  ear.  What 
need  that  he  should  stretch  forth  his  hands  to  touch 
his  Lord,  does  not  his  heart  feel  him  nigh  ?  Yes,  it  is 
he,  it  is  he !  who  else  could  it  be  but  he  ?  and  falling 
on  his  knees,  he  cries:  "My  Lord  and  my  God!" 

This  expression,  in  which  is  summed  up  all  the 
11* 


122  THE   CROSS   A   REVEALER 

experience  of  his  heart  during  those  three  years  which 
he  had  passed  in  his  Master's  company,  was  the  high- 
est that  an  Israelite  could  use.  See  in  it  a  proof  how 
strong  and  true  the  bond  was  which,  in  spite  of  all  his 
disbelief,  still  knit  him  to  his  Saviour.  See  in  this  a 
proof  that  throughout  the  whole  period  of  his  inter- 
course with  the  Lord,  the  rays  of  his  divinity  must 
have  penetrated  and  warmed  his  cold,  unbelieving 
heart.  All  this  is  now  disclosed  in  a  single  moment. 
Doubt  has  lain  upon  his  heart  only  as  a  thin  layer  of 
earth.  And  now  that  the  sun  puts  forth  his  might, 
the  hidden  germ  of  faith  shoots  up  with  power.  He 
had  been  drawn  by  the  Father  to  the  Son,  and  that 
hour  completed  his  spiritual  training.  So  he  now 
goes  forth  in  the  troop  of  the  warriors  of  the  cross ; 
and  he  takes  with  him  that  word  of  warning,  which 
he  received  as  a  legacy  from  his  Saviour,  ^'Blessed 
are  they  who  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed." 
And  0 !  with  what  power  will  he  preach  that  truth  to 
others  after  his  own  deep  experience!  We  find  in 
history,  as  many  of  you  know,  some  record  of  his 
apostolic  labours.  He  bore  the  word  of  the  cross  to 
Parthia,  perhaps  also  to  the  distant  Indies.  And  in 
modern  times  there  have  been  discovered  among  the 
mountains  of  Media  a  Christian  people  whose  fathers 
were  originally  Israelites,  who  were  converted  by  the 
instrumentality  of  the  apostle  Thomas,  the  founder  of 
their  Church. 

If  we  now  turn  our  eye  once  more  from  Thomas 
to  ourselves,  we  shall  find  that  it  is  generally  among 
the  circle  of  the  disciples  of  science  that  spirits  like 


OF   THE   HEARTS   OF   MEN.  123 

his  are  to  be  found.  These  often  lack  the  courage  in 
presence  of  intellectual  difficulties  and  scruples  to  make 
up  their  minds  to  perform  a  heroic  act  of  faith,  and 
cut  the  knot  they  cannot  untie.  Such  are,  in  the 
language  of  the  apostle,  "ever  learning,  and  never 
coming  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth."  Young  men, 
are  there  not  many  of  those  unfortunates  to  be  found 
among  you,  whom  this  world  has  already  cast  off,  and 
whom  heaven  will  not  take  in  ?  Whenever  you  would 
make  a  fresh  attempt  to  soar  above  the  world,  alas, 
there  is  the  two-edged  sword  of  an  intellectual  objec- 
tion, ready  to  cut  the  sinews  of  your  heaven-bound 
wing,  and  bring  you  down  again  to  the  clods  of  earth. 
But  think  not,  ye  disciples  of  science,  that  the  sad 
prerogative  of  such  conflicts  is  assigned  alone  to  you. 
0  my  friends,  if  it  be  true  that  believing  is  nothing 
else  than  holding  to  the  unseen  as  if  it  were  seen,  and 
if  by  nature  we  are  all  carnal,  and  therefore  cleave  to 
what  is  seen,  then  there  can  be  no  Christian  who  has 
not  this  fight  of  faith  to  fight,  for  it  is  indeed  nothing 
else  than  the  struggle  of  the  spirit  against  the  flesh. 
Was  there  ever  a  true  Christian  who  attained  to  the 
experience,  that  by  his  own  works  no  flesh  can  be  just 
before  God,  without  having  first  a  long  and  weary 
warfare  to  wage  with  the  human  understanding  which 
pleads  within  him  the  cause  of  the  self-righteous  heart. 
Has  any  one  ever  been  brought  from  the  heart  to 
believe  in  a  Father  in  heaven,  who  is  reconciled  in 
Christ,  without  having  first  had  to  engage  in  many  a 
fierce  conflict  with  the  thousand-fold  "No"  raised  in 
opposition  to  that  truth  by  the  natural  understanding, 


124 

whicli  pleads  the  cause  of  the  accusing  conscience? 
Or,  has  any  one  ever  been  able,  when  hard  pressed  in 
life's  extremity,  or  amid  the  terrors  of  death,  to  hold 
fast  his  faith  in  God,  without  having  to  combat  against 
the  oft-repeated  "No"  of  the  natural  understanding 
which  clings  to  the  seen  alone?  Then  why  do  we 
subscribe  the  confession  that  no  man  can  be  saved  by 
his  own  strength  or  reason,  if  it  is  not  that  faith  which 
frees  us  from  everything  that  is  of  ourselves,  is  a 
thing  so  hard  for  us,  is  a  thing  which  God  alone  can 
work  in  us  ?  And  therefore  I  say  those  words,  "  Blessed 
are  they  that  have  not  seen,  and  yet  have  believed," 
are  addressed  not  to  the  learned  only,  but  to  all  of  us, 
to  men  and  women,  young  and  old,  learned  and  un- 
learned alike.  And  for  all  of  us  alike  is  the  history  of 
Thomas  recorded  for  our  consolation,  that  we  may 
learn  what  a  strong  and  mighty  thing  faith  is,  which 
can  triumph  over  all  intellectual  scruples,  which  is 
capable  of  making  a  new  man  in  Christ  Jesus;  and 
that  we  may  know  that  in  the  school  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  even  the  most  unbelieving  natures  may  be  trans- 
formed into  children  of  God.  Or,  to  sum  up  the  whole 
in  one  word :  Brethren,  the  man  who,  drawn  by  his 
heart,  comes  to  the  Saviour,  he  will  in  no  wise  cast 
out,  be  that  man  who  he  may,  for  in  election  it  does 
not  depend  upon  what  one  is  by  nature,  but  upon  that 
which  by  grace  he  may  become. 

0  Lord,  look  upon  us.  We  believe,  help  our  unbe- 
lief!  0  Lord,  we  come  to  thee,  for  we  know  not  to 
whom  else  we  can  go ;  0 1  do  not  cast  us  out  I     Amen. 


PAET  11. 
THE  SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 


SERMON  I. 

JESUS   IN   GETHSEMANE. 

Matthew  xxvi.  36-46. — Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place 
called  Gethsemane,  and  saith  unto  the  disciples,  Sit  ye  here,  while 
I  go  and  pray  yonder.  And  he  took  with  him  Peter  and  the  two 
sons  of  Zebedee,  and  began  to  be  sorrowful  and  very  heavy. 
Then  saith  he  unto  them.  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even 
unto  death:  tarry  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me.  And  he  went  a 
little  farther,  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed,  saying,  0  my 
Father,  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass  from  me:  nevertheless 
not  as  I  will,  but  as  thou  wilt.  And  he  cometh  unto  the  disciples, 
and  findeth  them  asleep,  and  saith  unto  Peter,  What!  could  ye  not 
watch  with  me  one  hour?  Watch  and  pray,  that  ye  enter  not  into 
temptation:  the  spirit  indeed  is  willing,  but  the  flesh  is  weak. 
He  went  away  again  the  second  time,  and  prayed,  saying,  0  my 
Father,  if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I  drink  it, 
thy  will  be  done.  And  he  came  and  found  them  asleep  again;  for 
their  eyes  were  heavy.  And  he  left  them,  and  went  away  again, 
and  prayed  the  third  time,  saying  the  same  words.  Then  cometh 
he  to  his  disciples,  and  saith  unto  them,  Sleep  on  now,  and  take 
your  rest:  behold  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and  the  Son  of  Man  is 
betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners.  Eise,  let  us  be  going:  behold, 
he  is  at  hand  that  doth  betray  me. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord!  Christmas  and  New  Year's- 
day  are  gone,  and  already  I  call  upon  you  to  "go  up 
with  me  unto  Jerusalem."     We   shall   begin  to-day 


126     SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 

our  Good-Friday  and  Easter  meditations.  There  are 
not  many  texts  suitable  for  Christmas  in  the  New 
Testament — but  for  Easter  and  for  Good-Friday  there 
are  many — so  many,  that  it  is  impossible  to  exhaust 
them.  We  have,  on  a  previous  occasion,  considered 
together  the  revelation  of  the  human  heart,  as  it  is 
exhibited  beneath  the  cross  of  Christ.  And  in  this 
respect  we  have  contemplated  the  heart  of  a  Caiaphas, 
a  Peter,  a  Thomas,  and  a  Mary.  We  saw  that  the 
heart  of  man  is  only  rightly  revealed,  when  it  is  brought 
beneath  the  cross  of  Christ.  It  is  true,  the  Christian 
congregation  stands  in  need  of  moral  sermons,  and 
the  preacher  must  descend,  with  the  word  of  Christ  in 
his  hand,  into  the  heart  of  man ;  but  it  is  ever  to  him 
most  rejoicing  and  refreshing,  when  he  can  look  into 
the  heart  of  Christ  himself.  The  difference  is,  as 
when  one,  standing  high  in  the  mountain  air,  sees  the 
spring  rise  out  of  the  rocky  mountain-side,  and  when, 
standing  in  the  valley  below,  he  beholds  the  copious 
stream,  which,  as  it  flows,  spreads  blessing  and  fer- 
tility all  around.  And  may  God  grant  that  you  may 
know  in  your  deep  experience,  that  a  power  goes  forth 
from  the  word  which  testifies  of  Jesus,  which  makes 
men  whole. 

We  shall  view  the  heart  of  Jesus  in  Gethsemane, 
on  the  way  to  Golgotha,  on  the  cross.  Arise,  and  let 
us  go  this  day  in  spirit  to  Gethsemane,  and  there 
behold  the  heart  of  our  Saviour,  in  order  that  we  may 
thereby  learn  how  we  may  drink  the  cup  of  sorrow, 
when  it  shall  be  handed  to  us.  Listen  to  the  words 
of  the  Holy  Scripture,  as  we  find  it  in  Matthew  xxvi. 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  127 

36 — 46  :  "  Then  cometh  Jesus  with  them  unto  a  place 
called  Gfethsemane,  and  saith  unto  the  disciples,  Sit 
ye  here,  while  I  go  and  fray  yonder.  And  he  took 
with  him  Peter  and  the  two  sons  of  Zehedee,  and  began 
to  he  sorrowful  and  very  heavy.  Then  saith  he  unto 
them,  My  soul  is  exceeding  sorrowful,  even  unto 
death:  tarry  ye  here,  and  watch  with  me.  And  he 
went  a  little  farther,  and  fell  on  his  face,  and  prayed, 
saying,  0  my  Father,  if  it  he  possible,  let  this  cup 
pass  from  me  :  nevertheless  not  as  I  will,  hut  as  thou 
wilt.  And  he  co77ieth  unto  the  disciples  and  findeth 
them  asleep,  and  saith  unto  Peter,  What  I  could  ye 
not  watch  with  me  one  hour  ?  Watch  and  pray,  that 
ye  enter  not  into  temptation:  the  spirit  indeed  is 
willing,  hut  the  flesh  is  weak.  He  went  away  again 
the  second  time,  and  prayed,  saying,  0  my  Father, 
if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  1 
drink  it,  thy  will  he  done.  And  he  came  and  found 
them  asleep  again:  for  their  eyes  were  heavy.  And 
he  left  them,  and  went  away  again,  and  prayed  the 
third  time,  saying  the  same  words.  Then  cometh  he 
to  his  disciples,  and  saith  unto  them.  Sleep  on  now, 
and  take  your  rest :  hehold  the  hour  is  at  hand,  and 
the  Son  of  man  is  betrayed  into  the  hands  of  sinners. 
Rise,  let  us  he  going :  behold,  he  is  at  hand  that  doth 
betray  me.'* 

It  may  not  have  been  half  an  hour  before,  that  the 
Lord  had  uttered  so  solemnly  the  intercessory  prayer. 
That  was  not  like  the  prayer  of  a  dying  man,  but 
rather  as  of  one  already  glorified.  And  behold! 
around  that  sacred  head,  where  but  a  little  time  before 


128  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

the  light  of  glory  shone,  ah !  what  heavy  clouds  are 
gathering  now.  And  yet  this  contrast,  this  change  of 
light  and  darkness,  is  not  unintelligible.  The  man 
who  has  not,  in  an  unnatural  way,  repressed  his  feel- 
ings, will  always  find,  in  those  hours  when  he  has 
some  heavy  trial  to  bear,  that,  with  whatever  strength 
and  decision  he  may  have  surrendered  his  own  will  to 
the  will  of  God,  and  however  clearly  and  distinctly  his 
eye  may  perceive  the  real  tints  of  approaching  morn 
looking  out  from  behind  the  night-clouds  of  sorrow, 
nevertheless,  when  he  really  enters  into  the  cloud,  a 
cold  chill  passes  over  his  soul,  and  the  convulsions  of 
sorrow  overpower  him. 

These  will  be  moments,  isolated  indeed,  but  just  on 
that  very  account  all  the  more  severe :  in  every  case 
suffering  demands  its  due.  When  once  this  tribute 
has  been  rendered,  it  is  enough.  Thus  how  often, 
even  after  the  sky  has  cleared  up,  do  we  see  a  single 
storm-cloud  discharge  its  burden  of  thunder,  light- 
ning, and  rain,  and  it  is  not  till  the  last  drop  has 
fallen,  and  the  last  thunder  has  pealed,  that  serenity 
and  calm  are  restored.  This  natural  feeling  of  pain 
resembles  the  heat  of  summer  and  the  cold  of  winter. 
There  are  cold  summers  and  there  are  warm  winters, 
but,  at  least  for  some  days  in  the  season,  winter  and 
summer  must  assert  their  right,  and  when  they  have 
once  done  so,  it  is  enough. 

The  Saviour  too  has  in  this  hour  to  pay  his  tribute 
to  suffering.  He  will  do  it  now  when  unseen  by  any 
but  his  disciples,  that  he  may  stand  as  a  hero  when 
he  must  front  his  enemies.    So  may  it  be  with  us  also, 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     129 

brethren,  when  the  clouds  of  sorrow  gather  round  us 
with  all  their  terrors.  Sorrow  must  have  its  due,  but 
let  it  be  paid  in  solitude,  where  no  human  eye,  or  at 
least  none  but  a  friendly  one,  is  by  to  see.  And  then 
let  the  tears  be  quietly  dried,  when  we  go  out  again 
before  men,  that  we  cause  not  any  offence  to  the 
Saviour's  name. 

Like  a  flower  whose  root's  unseen 

While  the  bloom  appears, 
A  smile  beams  on  the  Christian's  life 

Which  springs  from  hidden  tears. 

If  we  look  into  the  Saviour's  heart  we  shall  see  how  a 
yes  and  a  no  are  in  conflict  there:  the  no  is  human, 
the  yes  divine,  and  divine  is  the  final  decision.  There 
is  a  human  no  in  his  heart  as  he  realizes  the  hour 
when  his  own  extremest  suffering  and  his  people's 
extremest  guilt  shall  be  brought  awfully  near  to  each 
other,  nay,  shall  consume  one  another.  "  0  Christ ! 
the  leaders  of  thy  people,  of  the  people  of  thy  choice, 
will  let  their  enmity  against  thee  rise  to  the  highest 
pitch  of  fury ;  ay,  they  will  even  lay  hands  on  thee, 
on  thee  the  centre  and  seal  of  all  their  promises." 
His  heart  cries  No !  "  One  of  thy  chosen  will  betray 
thee,  another  of  them  will  deny,  all  of  them  will  for- 
sake thee."  His  heart  cries  No!  "The  guilt  of  the 
people  and  of  mankind,  which  they  have  committed 
against  thee,  will  weigh  down  thy  heart  and  bow  thy 
head,  as  if  it  were  thy  righteous  doom."  No!  cries 
his  heart  with  abhorrence.  And  indeed  how  could  he 
then  have  answered  otherwise?  Had  any  other  than 
this  been  his  answer,  could  he  then  have  loved  man- 
12 


130  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

kind  ?  Could  lie  even  have  felt  as  a  man  feels,  if,  in 
view  of  this  final  catastrophe,  lie  had  not  with  all  his 
might  answered  No  !  But  perhaps  you  are  thinking 
of  him  of  world-renown,  that  greatest  among  the 
heathen,  of  Socrates — before  whose  death-struggle 
there  lay  no  Gethsemane.  Do  you  ask  why  that  man 
whom  no  fainting  of  spirit,  no  bloody  sweat  awaits, 
why,  with  such  a  calm  smile  of  irony,  he  takes  the 
cup  of  poison  which  his  accusers,  in  the  bitterness  of 
their  hate,  present  to  him  ?  He  was  great  indeed, 
that  greatest  among  the  heathen  that  know  not  God, 
but  in  that  cold  smile  on  the  very  verge  of  that  last, 
that  most  momentous  step  which  man  can  take,  I  find 
not  his  greatness.  It  does  indeed  appear  great  that 
he  did  not  tremble  at  the  step  he  was  taking  into  a 
land  which  to  him  was  really  a  land  unknown,  which 
was  disclosed  to  him  only  by  the  faint  and  feeble  light 
of  a  presentiment  of  the  heart.  But  had  he  not  been 
greater  still,  if,  even  in  him,  who  with  all  his  wisdom, 
was  after  all  but  a  sinful  child  of  man,  the  thought 
that  he  must  soon  stand  before  his  Judge,  had  driven 
the  blood  quicker  and  hotter  through  his  veins  ?  Had 
he  not  been  greater  if  a  feeling  of  pitying  sympathy 
for  the  guilt  which  his  accusers  were  incurring,  and 
for  the  blindness  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  had  crim- 
soned his  cheek  and  darkened  his  brow  with  sorrow? 
But  the  man  who,  in  the  days  of  his  life,  instead  of 
pitying  the  sinners,  has  ironically  laughed  at  the  fools, 
such  a  one  will  find  something  to  smile  at  even  in  the 
deepest  blindness  of  his  people.  0  !  the  guilt  of  such 
is  indeed  not  once  to  be  measured  with  the  guilt  of 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     131 

the  chosen  people,  that  people  who  outraged  him  on 
whom  all  their  promises  hung,  the  holy  Lamb  of  God ; 
and  yet,  had  there  been  in  the  heart  of  the  Grecian 
sage  but  a  spark  of  the  holy  sympathy  of  Jesus  with 
sinful  humanity,  surely  then  a  shade  of  sorrow  must 
have  passed  over  the  smiling  countenance !  No !  the 
Saviour  could  not  have  been  so  holy,  so  loving,  and 
so  great,  and  the  guilt  of  his  murderers  could  not  have 
been  so  enormous  as  it  was,  had  he  thought  on  that 
hour  without  the  sweat  of  agony,  or  had  he  gone  to 
meet  it  with  only  that  horror  of  death  which  all 
other  children  of  men  experience.  But  was  it  really 
sorrow  on  account  of  his  own  suffering  only,  that  so 
afflicted  and  prostrated  his  soul?  Were  this  the  case, 
for  whom,  I  ask  you,  had  the  tears  which  he  shed  on 
his  last  entrance  into  the  city,  when  he  cried,  "  0 ! 
that  thou  hadst  known  the  things  which  belong  to  thy 
peace!"  for  whom  would  those  tears  have  flowed? 
Can  you  doubt  that  he  who  then  wept  at  the  thought 
of  the  guilt  his  own  people  were  so  soon  to  incur,  did 
now  in  Gethsemane  feel  the  weight  of  this  sorrow  also? 
And  when  on  the  way  to  the  cross  the  women  of 
Jerusalem,  in  their  sympathy,  mourned  for  him,  was 
it  his  own  sorrow  that  engrossed  his  thoughts  and 
filled  his  soul  when  he  cried,  "  Weep  not  for  me,  weep 
rather  for  yourselves"  ?  No,  believe  me.  On  every 
occasion  when  he  is  seen  to  shudder  at  the  thought  of 
his  sufferings,  it  is  because  he  is  looking  down  into  the 
abyss  of  his  people's  guilt,  which  these  sufferings  dis- 
close. Thus  it  was  too  on  that  occasion,  when,  long 
before  the  wings  of  death  began  to  flutter  around  him, 


132  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CimiST. 

he  cried,  "  I  am  come  to  kindle  a  fire  on  the  earth,  but 
I  have  yet  a  baptism  to  be  baptized  with,  and  how  do 
I  long  for  it  to  be  accomplished!"  If  then  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  horror  with  which  the  Redeemer 
contemplates  death  is  at  the  same  time  a  horror  at  the 
thought  of  the  guilt  of  humanity,  then  was  his  answer 
all  the  more  on  that  account  a  real  human  no^  when 
he  prayed,  "If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass!" 

But  along  with  this  human  No,  there  was  also, 
from  the  very  first,  as  we  must  believe,  a  Divine, 
deep-seated  Yes,  in  his  heart.  What  I  mean  is,  that 
from  the  beginning  he  knew  to  what  end  he  was  in 
the  world,  he  acknowledged  a  Divine  necessity  which 
determined  every  step  he  took.  "Must  not  Christ 
have  suffered  those  things,  that  he  might  enter  into 
his  glory;"  such  is  the  question  which  he  put  to  his 
disciples  after  the  resurrection,  as  he  opened  up  to 
them  the  Scriptures.  From  this  we  see  that  he  had 
read  with  his  enlightened  eye  his  own  history  in  the 
prophecies  of  the  Old  Testament  from  the  first.  You 
know  the  prophecies  of  Isaiah,  that  gospel-book  of  the 
Old  Testament,  and  there  you  have  learned  to  recog- 
nize the  noble  form  of  the  true  suffering  servant  of 
God.  "He  shall  grow  up  before  him  as  a  tender 
plant,  and  as  a  root  out  of  a  dry  ground :  he  hath  no 
form  nor  comeliness ;  and  when  we  shall  see  him,  there 
is  no  beauty  that  we  should  desire  him.  Surely  he 
hath  borne  our  griefs,  and  carried  our  sorrows;  yet 
we  did  esteem  him  stricken,  smitten  of  God,  and 
afflicted."  How  often  in  its  musings  must  the  spirit 
of  our  Lord  have  been  absorbed  in  these  verses.     He 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHEIST.  133 

did  not  require  to  ask,  like  that  chamberlain  of  whom 
we  read,  "I  pray  thee,  of  whom  speaketh  the  prophet 
this?"  In  this  crape-covered  mirror  the  Saviour  be- 
held the  reflection  of  himself,  and  saw,  long  before 
they  arrived,  the  days  of  his  sorrow.  They  had  ever, 
from  the  very  first,  been  before  his  eyes.  Does  he  not 
already,  at  the  first  passover  in  Jerusalem,  speak  to 
Nicodemus  of  the  Divine  necessity,  according  to  which 
he  is  to  be  raised  upon  the  cross:  "As  Moses  lifted 
up  the  serpent  in  the  wilderness,  even  so  must  the 
Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up."  And  in  how  many  sayings 
does  this  must  recur?  "Except  a  grain  of  corn  fall 
into  the  earth  and  die,  it  abideth  alone."  "And  I, 
if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all  men 
unto  me."  "The  Son  of  Man  came  to  give  his  life  a 
ransom  for  many."  Yea,  he  even  prays  in  the  pas- 
sage before  us,  "If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass;" 
a  saying  hard  to  understand,  when  we  remember  that 
it  was  but  a  few  hours  before  that  he  had  actually 
instituted  the  memorial  of  his  death,  when  he  appoint- 
ed the  sacrament  of  the  Supper,  that  he  had  actually 
preached  of  the  blood  of  the  New  Testament,  which  is 
shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  Then  the 
Divine  necessity  was  full  before  his  soul,  and  now  he 
speaks  of  a  possibility:  "My  Father!  if  it  he  possible, 
let  this  cup  pass  from  me!" 

And  yet  he  to  whom  it  has  been  assigned  to  expe- 
rience to  the  uttermost  the  fire  of  trial,  to  whom  his 
God  has  seen  meet,  at  one  period  or  other  in  the 
course  of  his  life,  to  allot  such  tests  as  Abraham  had, 
and  such  hours  of  affliction  as  Job  knew,  such  a  man 
12* 


134  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

will  be  able  to  understand  this,  which  to  others  appears 
so  mysterious.  He  will  remember  how,  at  such  sea- 
sons, all  that  a  man  has  known  and  experienced 
retires  into  the  background,  and  not  a  single  idea  or 
emotion  remains  before  the  soul  save  that  one,  all- 
absorbing  thought  of  pain,  which  in  its  insuperable 
greatness  fills  the  eye  of  the  soul,  and  shuts  out  all 
other  thoughts  from  its  memory  and  regard.  One 
may  know  ever  so  certainly  and  distinctly  that  the 
cup,  the  bitter  cup,  must  be  drunk,  and  yet  the  soul 
will  cry,  "Lord,  is  it  possible;  Lord,  is  it  possible?" 
And,  even  if  the  decree  of  God  was  graven  in  stone 
before  the  soul:  "Soul,  thou  must!''  still  the  soul 
would  cry,  "Lord,  is  it  possible!"  It  is  indeed  only 
those  among  you,  who  are  no  longer  apprentices  in 
the  school  of  affliction,  that  know  this  kind  of  wrestling 
with  God;  but  you  also  will  be  able  to  bear  testimony 
to  its  truth.  With  us,  indeed,  it  is  only  for  a  few 
hours,  or  perhaps  half-hours,  that  the  inner  eye  of  the 
soul  is  so  covered  with  tears,  that  it  can  indeed  see 
nothing  else  but  those  tears.  With  our  Lord,  how- 
ever, this  state  did  not  last  for  hours,  with  him  it  is 
scarcely  a  minute  in  duration,  for  see  how  he  gives 
expression  in  almost  the  same  breath  to  both — both 
to  the  wish  of  his  heart,  bound  with  anguish,  and  to 
his  consciousness  of  the  divine,  holy  necessity  of  the 
case:  "If  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  pass;"  but  in  the 
same  sentence  he  adds,  "Nevertheless,  not  as  I  will, 
but  as  thou  wilt."  These  two  points  of  view  come 
separately  before  his  mind,  in  his  contemplation,  only ; 
in  reality,  they  are  ever  united ;  and  they  are  viewed 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  135 

apart  only  to  be  instantly  united  once  more.  And 
also  in  our  Saviour's  view  you  see  how  clearly  the 
two  are  brought  together,  when,  the  second  time, 
returning  from  his  disciples,  he  says,  "  0  my  Father, 
if  this  cup  may  not  pass  away  from  me,  except  I 
drink  it,  thy  will  be  done."  The  cup  is  bitter,  and, 
in  view  of  its  bitterness,  purely  human  feeling  can 
never  do  otherwise  than  refuse  or  be  unwilling  to 
drink  it.  But  he  lets  a  little  drop  fall  into  the  cup, 
which  is  sufficient  to  make  its  contents  sweet,  and  that 
drop  is  the  short  phrase,  "  God  wills  it."  When  he 
comes  back  from  his  disciples  the  first  time,  that  little 
drop  is  not  as  yet  thoroughly  mixed  with  the  other 
contents  of  the  cup ;  and  the  very  point  of  conflict  is 
to  make  the  divine  sweetness  transfuse  the  human 
bitterness.  And  so  when  Christ  says,  "Rise,  let  us 
be  going,"  the  bitterness  has  been  swallowed  up  by 
the  sweetness,  and  made  wholly  to  disappear ;  and,  as 
the  sun,  which  in  the  morning  a  stormy  cloud  had 
covered,  rises  in  majesty  in  the  heavens,  serene  and 
unclouded,  the  Saviour  advances  from  beneath  the 
darkness  of  that  cloud  of  woe,  and  accosts  his  enemies 
with  the  question,  "Whom  seek  ye?" 

The  decision  cost  our  Lord  a  struggle.  0  brethren, 
it  does  cost  man  something  to  find  that  the  cup  which 
God  holds  out  to  him,  and  which  in  itself  is  so  bitter, 
is  notwithstanding  sweet,  just  because  it  is  the  will  of 
G-od.  The  decision  cost  our  Lord  a  -struggle.  0 
how  bitter  must  that  cup  have  been  to  him  at  the 
thought  of  which  he  could  be  so  faint  and  disheart- 
ened!    Can  you  estimate  what  a  weight  must  have 


136  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

lain  upon  his  heart  when  from  his  brow  the  sweat  of 
agon  J  fell  in  great  drops  of  blood?  But  what  most 
strikes  the  reader  of  this  touching  narrative  is,  the 
longing  of  the  Saviour  for  human  sympathy.  He  is 
in  need  of  loving  men  to  watch  with  him.  "What, 
could  ye  not  watch  with  me  one  hour?"  Here  may 
we  also,  brethren,  draw  something  for  our  hours  of 
suffering.  Yes,  it  is  human  to  be  unwilling  to  watch 
through  the  hot  and  parching  hours  of  life  without 
the  solace  of  sympathy  and  love.  Human  too  is  it, 
not  to  withdraw  one's  self  when  the  children  of  afflic- 
tion invite  us  to  weep  through  their  nights  of  tears 
along  with  them.  Our  friends,  too,  will  grow  weary 
and  sleepy  when  called  on  to  watch  with  us  through 
long  nights  of  sorrow — for  0 !  it  is  easier  to  rejoice 
with  those  that  rejoice  than  it  is  to  weep  with  those 
that  weep.  The  friends  of  the  Lord  were  overcome 
with  sleep,  although  they  were  required  to  watch 
only  one  single  hour  with  their  Master !  How  bitter 
must  the  cup  have  been  to  him,  for  he  is  now  so  dis- 
heartened :  he  had  fought  this  very  fight  already,  long 
before  the  bitter  reality,  in  his  foreknowledge  of  the 
future.  The  conflict  in  Gethsemane  had  been  fought 
through  even  in  the  wilderness  of  Jordan,  in  the  days 
of  his  temptation.  Was  there  not,  then,  already  at 
the  outset,  the  whole  of  the  way  of  the  cross  stretch- 
ing before  the  eye  of  his  soul,  that  way  which,  accord- 
ing to  God's  appointment,  he  had  to  go ;  and  already 
at  the  outset  did  he  make  his  decision ;  although  he 
might  have  chosen  joy,  he  chose  the  cross.  And  when, 
at  the  feast  at  Jerusalem  the  first  rays  of  the  glory 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  137 

wMch  was  to  follow  from  his  suiferings  shone  around 
him,  on  the  occasion  when  the  Greeks  desired  to  see 
him,  as  the  thought  of  the  inexpressible  joy  which  his 
sufferings  were  to  bring  to  the  whole  human  race, 
came  before  him,  then,  along  with  the  vision  of  his 
glory,  the  thought  of  what  he  must  first  endure  seized 
his  soul.  "Except  a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the 
ground  and  die,  it  abideth  alone;  but  if  it  die,  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit.  Now  is  my  soul  troubled ; 
and  what  shall  I  say  ?  '  Father,  save  me  from  this 
hour?'  But  for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour." 
You  see,  it  is  the  same  conflict:  "Now  is  my  soul 
troubled,  shall  I  say,  'Save  me  from  this  hour?' — but 
for  this  cause  came  I  unto  this  hour !"  It  is  the  same 
human  No,  the  same  divine  Yes,  and  the  same  divine- 
human  decision.  Thus  more  than  once  did  the 
Saviour  fight  this  fight,  more  than  once  did  he  wring 
from  himself  this  decision.  It  is  written  of  him,  "My 
meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  my  Father."  Again,  it  is 
written  of  him  that  "he  learned  obedience  by  the 
things  which  he  suffered."  The  will  of  God  was 
indeed  meat  to  hin| ;  but  to  find  that  meat  so  distaste- 
ful to  his  humanity,  to  find  it  pleasant,  was  no  easy 
matter.  Only  by  exercise,  only  by  suffering,  only  in 
repeated  fights,  in  repeated  decisions,  was  it  possible 
that  the  Son  of  God  could  learn  to  do  this.  And 
none  of  you,  my  brethren,  who  have  not  learned  obe- 
dience to  the  will  of  God,  and  the  joy  of  that  obedi- 
ence in  the  school  of  affliction,  have  ever  learned  it. 
The  fact  that  you  wonder  at  these  fierce  conflicts,  at 
these  repeated  decisions  of  the  Lord,  may  testify  to 


138  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

you,  either  that  you  have  not  yet  an  idea,  even  the 
faintest,  of  the  load  that  lay  upon  the  holy  soul  of 
Jesus,  because  you  are  not  yourselves  holy  enough; 
or,  that  you  have  not  yet  felt  how  great  the  lesson  is 
which  has  been  given  you  to  learn:  to  be  able  in 
everything,  even  in  what  to  the  natural  man  is  dis- 
tasteful and  unpleasant,  to  say,  not  in  the  spirit  of  a 
servant,  but  of  a  child,  "Thy  will  be  done!"  "How 
sweet  are  thy  words  unto  my  taste." 

Ah !  most  men  do  not  understand  even  what  sort  of 
a  decision  is  required  of  them  in  their  hours  of  suffer- 
ing. There  are  some  who,  without  ever  imagining 
that  every  affliction  is  sent  by  God  charged  with  the 
teaching  of  a  moral  lesson,  regard  their  endurance  of 
those  afflictions  in  the  light  of  a  meritorious  work. 
But  do  not  err :  it  was  not  by  the  crown  of  thorns 
alone  that  Jesus  became  the  Christ;  it  is  not,  it 
never  can  be  so.  Others  there  are  who  look  upon 
themselves  as  heroes,  when  they  can  forget  their  suf- 
ferings. That  is,  to  say  the  least,  unnatural.  Is  it 
not  unnatural  in  an  old  man  to  act  as  if  he  were 
young,  or  when  a  lame  man  would  leap  as  if  he  were 
whole?  Thus,  too,  it  is  unnatural  to  wish  to  ignore 
and  deny  a  burden  under  which  we  lie,  by  the  decree 
of  God.  Nay  more,  it  is  ungodly ;  for  why  has  thy 
God  been  pleased  to  smite  thee  with  the  rod,  if  thou 
art  not  to  feel  its  smart;  why  has  he  poured  out  for 
thee  the  bitter  draught,  if  thou  art  not  to  taste  its 
bitterness?  But  thou  wouldst  escape  from  the  school 
where  God  would  teach  thee,  and  because  thou  art 
ashamed  of  the  bitter  draught,  thou  wouldst  drink  it 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     139 

with  blinded  eyes.     Thou  fool !  is  not  the  cup  there, 
and  must  it  not  be  drunk  whether  thou  drink  it  with 
thine   eyes  open  or  closed?     But  we  are  not  to  take 
blindly,  but  as  seeing  men,  all  that  God  holds  out  to 
us.     And  to  take  it  with  open  eyes  means,  to  acknow- 
ledge the  end  for  which  it  is  given.     Now,  it  is  given 
us  in  order  that  we  may  learn  the  art  of  tasting  what 
is  sweet  in  the  will  of  God,  even  when  that  will  in- 
volves what  is  in  itself  bitter.     This  is  what  we  are 
intended  to  learn.    To  pour  the  little  drop  "  God  wills 
it"  into  the  bitter  cup,  and  to  mingle  that  little  drop 
with  the  bitter  contents,  until  the  taste  of  the  whole  is 
sweetened.     At  present  the  most  of  you  suffer,  only 
because  you  must,  and  therefore  as  servants ;  but^you 
should  suifer  as  children,  who  suffer  because  it  is  the 
will  of  their  father  that  they  should,  and  who,  because 
it  is  his  will,  make  it  also  theirs.    When  one  learns  to 
view  sorrow  in  this  light,  what  a  multitude  of  moral 
lessons  open  up  to  him.     Then  one  need  not  wait  for 
extraordinary  seasons  of  affliction.     Each  little  daily 
sorrow,  every  misunderstanding  we  experience  on  the 
part  of  our  fellow-men,  every  little  disappointed  hope, 
every  cross,  every  care,  if  only  viewed  in  this  light, 
becomes  a  great  lesson  to  every  Christian  soul:  he 
must  not  bear  it  as  a  servant,  he  must  bear  it  as  a  son  ! 
0  ye  who  know  not  yet  the  school  of  affliction,  and 
the  lesson  that  is  there  taught,  go,  learn  it  at  Geth- 
semane !    Learn  it  in  contemplating  the  conflict  which 
the  holy  heart  of  Jesus  knew  there,  and  let  the  thought 
of  him  be  your  consolation  and  your  strength  when  the 
cup  is  passed  to  you !    There  you  may  once  and  again 


140  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

have  to  bend  the  knee,  before  your  breast  is  unbur- 
dened, and  your  brow  again  unclouded.  The  struggle 
may  be  so  severe  that  in  it  the  physical  man  may  be 
quite  shaken  and  shattered,  and  you  may  have  to  fight 
every  inch  of  the  way.  And  if  one  decision  be  not 
sufficient,  another  and  another  must  be  forced  from 
you.  0!  in  all  these  experiences  your  Saviour  has 
gone  before  you,  for  he,  even  he  had  to  learn  obedi- 
ence by  the  things  which  he  suffered.  Eemember  that 
with  every  new  conflict  this  obedience  becomes  more 
and  more  our  own,  becomes  more  and  more  the  law  of 
our  new  life.  Hence  it  is  that  the  conflict  recurs  so 
often.  If  even  with  the  Saviour  the  struggle  had  to 
be  fought,  and  the  decision  to  be  made  repeatedly  over 
again,  think  what  a  very  difficult  task  it  must  be  to 
sweeten  the  bitter  cup  with  the  consideration  that  it  is 
God  who  sends  it.  And  even  when  the  fight  is  over, 
and  the  victory  won,  above  the  shout  of  triumph  may 
still  be  heard  the  groan  of  suffering  nature.  Do  you 
not  hear,  after  the  decision  of  Gethsemane,  and  before 
the  final  "It  is  finished,"  the  words,  "My  God,  my 
God^  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  May  the  soul- 
conflict  of  our  Saviour  in  Gethsemane  teach  us  that  it 
is  one  of  the  highest  works  of  our  Christian  life  at  all 
times  so  to  permeate  and  transfuse  the  human  no  with 
the  divine  yes^  that  the  final  decision  shall  be  divine ! 

The  Christian  lives,  but  lives  to  fight, 

He  struggles  on  his  way. 
Christ's  people  are  his  soldiers  too, 
Christ  leads  them  by  his  Spirit  through, 

From  strife  to  victory. 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  141 

'Tis  not  the  skirmish  of  an  hour; 

Sin  yields  not  at  a  blow: 
For  pride  of  heart  is  ill  to  slay 
And  what  seemed  overcome  to-day, 

Will  be  to-morrow's  foe. 

0  Lord !  Thou  who  in  all  points  didst  become  like 
unto  us,  yet  without  sin.  0  Lord !  Thou  who  in  the 
days  of  thy  flesh  didst  oiFer  strong  crying  and  tears, 
in  order  that  thy  heavenly  Father's  will  might  be 
found  sweet  unto  thee,  grant  unto  us  thy  Spirit,  that 
we  may  understand  the  lesson  that  is  daily,  in  every 
sorrow,  given  us  to  learn.  Grant  us  thy  Spirit,  that 
we  may  fight  a  good  fight,  and  may  never  by  suc- 
cumbing enfeeble  our  spirit.  0  Lord  !  how  beautiful 
is  the  crown  which  awaits  us  at  the  goal,  do  thou  hold 
it  ever  before  our  soul !    Amen. 


SERMON  IL 


JESUS    AND    HIS    BETRAYER. 


LiJKE  xxii.  47,  48. — And  while  he  yet  spake,  behold  a  multitude,  and 
he  that  was  called  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve,  went  before  them,  and 
drew  near  unto  Jesus  to  kiss  him.  But  Jesvis  said  unto  him,  Judas, 
betray  est  thou  the  Son  of  man  with  a  kiss? 

Beloved  !  We  have  fought  with  our  Saviour  the  fight 
in  Gethsemane,  and  we  have  seen  him  come  forth 
from  the  struggle  victorious.  As  the  rising  sun  before 
which  a  morning  storm  lay  gloomily  piled,  comes 
forth  in  majesty  when  the  thunder  is  over,  and  in 
13 


142  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

cloudless  glory  "flames  in  the  forehead  of  the  morn- 
ing sky:"  so  the  incarnate  Sun  of  Righteousness  rises 
in  calm  majesty  from  behind  the  clouds  of  sorrow 
which  had  surrounded  him.  Jesus  comes  forward 
from  the  interior  of  the  garden,  and  advances  into  the 
presence  of  his  betrayer  and  his  judges.  We  shall  in 
our  meditation  of  to-day  leave  the  scene  where  we 
have  lingered,  where  we  have  seen  him  sweat  as  it 
were  great  drops  of  blood,  and  heard  the  words,  "Not 
my  will,  Father,  but  thine  be  done,"  resound  through 
that  lonely  night.  To-day  we  shall  contemplate 
those  last  words  that  the  Saviour  addresses  to  his 
betrayer.  We  read  in  the  22d  chapter  of  Luke,  at 
the  47th  and  48th  verses,  these  words:  ^' And  while 
he  yet  spaJce,  behold  a  multitude,  and  he  that  was 
called  Judas,  one  of  the  twelve,  went  before  them, 
and  drew  near  unto  Jesus  to  kiss  him.  But  Jesus 
said  unto  him,  Judas,  betray  est  thou  the  Son  of  man 
with  a  kiss  9'' 

Let  us  cast  a  glance  on  the  deed  of  the  traitor,  on 
the  cunning,  the  terror  of  conscience,  and  the  turpi- 
tude of  the  act ;  then  we  shall  look  at  the  words  of  our 
Lord,  and  contemplate  the  repose,  the  love,  and  the 
sublime  majesty  of  these  words. 

When  Jesus  gave  the  sop  to  Judas,  and  in  answer 
to  the  disciple  that  lay  on  his  breast,  said,  "  He  it  is 
to  whom  I  shall  give  a  sop,  when  I  have  dipped  it;" 
probably  it  was  a  struggle  of  many  weeks,  ay,  of 
months,  that  was  then  finally  decided.  "And  after 
the  sop  Satan  entered  into  him"  we  read.  (John  xiii. 
27.)     So  long  as  he  was  in  conflict  with  this  thought 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  143 

of  blackness  he  was  still  in  the  power  of  God:  now 
the  power  of  conscience  prevailed,  and  now  the  temp- 
tation of  Satan.  When  the  decision  was  matured,  he 
was  from  that  moment  in  the  power  of  Satan,  and 
every  step  on  the  descending  path  led  nearer  to  the- 
abyss.  He  went  out  into  the  night — what  a^eontrast ! 
There,  in  that  lighted  room,  they  are  celebrating  the 
last  feast  of  love,  and  he — he  goes  out  into  the  night 
and  to  the  children  of  the  night.  T^e  arrangement 
had  previously  been  mad^TSQ^lhifig  remained  but  to 
carry  it  into  action.  Mark  in  the  first  place  the  cun- 
ning of  the  deed.  We  know  that  "the  children  of 
the  world"  are,  in  general,  wiser  than  "the  children 
of  light."  The  serpent  in  paradise  was  wise  too. 
Alas,  that  the  noble  gift  of  reason,  which  God  had 
given  to  man,  should  itself,  when  once  the  heart  be- 
comes the  servant  of  sin,  be  given  over  to  that  ser- 
vice !  When  that  heart  was  right  with  God,  wisdom 
was  the  noble  offspring  of  reason;  now,  alas,  all  that 
is  left  is  subtilty,  and  that  a  subtilty  which  works  in 
the  service  of  hell!  0,  do  not  deceive  yourselves, 
those  among  you  who  imagine  that  by  reason  and  sci- 
ence alone  you  can  place  yourselves  secure  above  the 
power  of  sin:  "where  your  treasure  is,"  says  Christ, 
"there  will  your  heart  be  also,"  and  where  your  heart, 
that  is,  the  deepest  bent  and  striving  of  your  will,  is, 
there  will  also  your  reason  be. 

Do  you  know  how  your  reason  will  serve  you  in  the 
service  of  sin  ?  Before  the  commission  of  the  deed  it 
will  suggest  to  you  the  means  to  be  used,  during  its 
commission  it  will  teach  you  to  spread  a  veil  over  it, 


144  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

and  after  the  deed  is  done,  when  conscience  begins  to 
pour  forth  upon  you  the  storm  of  its  indignation,  it 
will  teach  you  how  you  may  silence  it  with  cunning 
excuses  and  with  lying  self-justification.  Thus,  and 
thus  alone  will  it  serve  you.  Because  the  heart  of 
Judas  was  not  with  God,  his  reason  was  blind  to  the 
deed  which  he  was  about  to  commit.  But  it  was.  not 
blind  to  the  means  by  which  the  deed  was  to  be  carried 
out.  It  advised  that  the  deed  should  be  done  under 
the  cloak  of  night.  It  was  a  prudent  suggestion  in 
the  interest  both  of  his  cause  and  in  that  of  his  con- 
science. It  was  prudent  in  the  interest  of  his  cause, 
because  had  the  deed  been  committed  by  day,  more 
swords,  I  think,  than  that  of  Peter  would  have  leapt 
from  their  scabbards !  The  Lord  had  servants  who 
would  readily  have  risked  their  life  for  his  sake. 
But  the  traitor  would  complete  his  work  "in  the  time 
when  men  sleep."  Now  we  know  from  the  parables 
of  our  Lord,  that  it  is  in  the  time  when  men  sleep 
that  the  evil  spirit  sows  his  tares.  Then,  in  the  inter- 
est of  his  conscience,  the  time  was  wisely  chosen.  He 
probably  said  to  himself,  "Betray  him  in  his  sleep, 
and  then  thou  needst  not  look  into  his  eye  when  thou 
betray  est  him."  Was  that  nothing  gained?  Doubt- 
less it  is  a  base  act  of  treason  to  deliver  up  to  his 
enemies  a  sleeping  friend — and  in  this  case,  0,  surely 
much  more  than  a  friend !  But  thus  it  must  be,  since 
conscience  will  be  so  cowardly  that  it  dare  not  look 
him  in  the  face!  "Betray  him  while  asleep,"  were  a 
cunning  thought — to  deceive  at  once  the  friends  of 
Jesus  and  the  conscience  of  the  traitor!     However, 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  145 

this  part  of  his  plot  miscarries.  In  the  house  through 
which  the  way  to  the  garden  leads,  he  receives  intelli- 
gence that  the  eye  he  fears  so  much  is  awake ;  that 
Jesus  is  in  the  garden,  with  his  three  disciples.  How 
shall  he  now  secure  his  prey  ?  How  shall  he  deceive 
his  conscience  ?  His  cunning  must  devise  new  counsel. 
He  knows  of  what  his  own  cowardly  soul  is  capable, 
and  he  suspects  the  same  in  the  Lord: — he  fears  his 
flight.  How  shall  he  then  secure  his  prey !  He  dare 
not  approach  with  the  loud  voice  of  treachery;  he 
dare  not  cry.  This  is  he,  seize  him !  He  must  come 
softly  and  unsuspected,  like  the  serpent  creeping  along 
the  grass.  The  armed  troop  wait  at  the  garden-door, 
and  the  traitor  advances  alone,  as  if  he  were  a  friend 
come  to  visit  the  Saviour  by  night.  Judas !  amid  all 
these  different  schemings,  has  no  voice  whispered  in 
thine  inmost  heart  ?  was  there  no  remonstrance  on  the 
part  of  conscience,  when  the  first  step  miscarried? 
Sin  is  ever  on  uncertain  ground.  It  is  wont  to  become 
alarmed  and  uncertain,  when  the  first  step  falls  out 
amiss.  It  requires  the  hardening  of  long  years,  before 
the  sinner  comes  to  feel  the  ground  under  his  feet 
secure  in  his  proceedings,  so  that  he  does  not  become 
alarmed  when  the  first  step  fails.  Beginners  in  crime 
cannot  bear  this  so  easily ;  they  think  at  once  that  it 
is  the  ministers  of  divine  justice  which  they  see  pursu- 
ing them.  They  shrink  from  every  step,  as  if  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left  gins  were  laid  for  them,  as 
if  the  very  next  step  they  took  might  plunge  them 
into  an  abyss.  Do  you  not  see  in  this  a  clear  proof 
of  the  fact,  that  sin  has  no  right  in  the  world,  that 


146  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

although  it  exists,  it  exists  as  a  thing  already  judged 
and  condemned,  that  a  moral  Governor  of  the  world 
has  set  his  curse  upon  it,  (as  the  consequences  of  sin 
so  manifestly  show,)  that  it  is  thus  never  a  safe  thing, 
that  it  is  outlawed.  Is  Judas  a  beginner  in  sin,  or 
has  he  already  learned  to  make  light  of  his  conscience  ? 
0  Judas!  couldst  thou  not  even  then  have  entered 
into  thine  own  heart,  and  have  lent  even  then  an  ear 
to  the  voice  within,  as  thou  didst  find  waking  the  eye 
of  Him  whom  only  in  sleep  thou  hadst  thought  to  have 
betrayed  ?  Did  it  not  seem  as  if  the  finger  of  thy  God 
was  then  pointing  the  glance  inward  upon  thyself? 
Alas,  in  vain !  Conscience  may  have  then  lifted  up 
its  voice  ever  so  loud,  he  would  only  have  thought 
how  he  could  most  skilfully  contrive  to  deceive  it. 
How  apparent  is  it  here  that  the  cunning  with 
which  Judas  meant  by  a  kiss  to  deceive  Jesus,  was 
also  intended  as  a  device  for  deceiving  Ms  own  con- 
science? That  kiss  of  treachery  discovers  with  what 
terror  of  conscience  he  had  gone  about  the  whole 
work,  discovers  also  the  fact  that  his  sense  of  being 
conscience-stricken  was  most  painfully  oppressive  at 
that  very  moment  when  he  was  forced  to  meet  the  wak- 
ing eye  of  his  Lord.  That  kiss  was  a  sign  of  reverence 
and  love.  He  thus  thought  he  could  administer  a 
quietus  to  his  conscience.  But,  even  more  than  this, 
the  thought  that  thus  he  would  not  require  to  look  into 
the  eye  of  Christ  as  the  eye  of  a  judge,  he  expected 
once  more  to  be  able  to  look  on  it  as  a  friend  looks 
into  the  eye  of  a  friend.  And  hadst  thou  then  the 
heart,  0  Judas,  to  look  on  him  as  a  loving  friend, 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  147 

whom  thou  didst  fear  to  look  on  as  thy  judge?     He 
had  the  heart— but  that  too  was  no  easy  thing :  how 
much  more  readily  had  he  altogether  dispensed  with 
casting  a  last  look  on  the  eye  of  Jesus,  whether  as  a 
judge  or  a  friend.     But  he  had  no  other  choice.     Do 
you  imagine  that  Judas  had  never  understood  that 
look  of  love?— then  indeed  had  his  guilt  been  infi- 
nitely less.     But  he  had :  for  the  traitor  too  had  ance 
belonged   to   the   number   of  those   souls  which   are 
drawn  by  the  Father  to  the  Son ;   and  this  it  is  that 
makes  his  guilt  of  so  deep  a  dye.     "Those  that  thou 
gavest  me  I  have  kept,"  says  the  Saviour,  "and  none 
of  them  is  lost,  but  the  son  of  perdition."  (John  xvii. 
12.)      So   even  Judas   was   one   of  those   whom  the 
Father  had  given  to  Christ,  the  Father  had  drawn 
him  to  the  Son ;  but  he  would  not  let  himself  be  drawn ; 
this  it  is  which  makes  the  deed  so  black.    Even  then  a 
gleam  of  the  light  of  heaven  might  have  shone  upon  him 
from  the  eye  of  Jesus.    But  such  a  light  was  quenched 
in  the  blackness  of  his  soul;   or  rather,  may  it  not 
have  become  a  burning  firebrand  there,  which,  kindled 
by  that  last  look  from  Christ,  would  afterwards  burst 
out  in  fury  in  his  soul.     He  felt  the  power  of  that 
look,  when,  throwing  the  price  of  him  that  was  valued 
into  the   treasury,  he   exclaimed,  "I  have  betrayed 
innocent  blood,   I  have   betrayed   innocent   blood!" 
See   how   the   innocent   blood  has  been  turned  into 
a   sea   of  fire   that   burns   within   his   heart.'     And 
that  the  blood  he  betrayed  was   innocent,  the  last 
calm,  holy  look  of  Jesus  testified.    Thus  it  is  that  con- 
science does  not  take  its  leave  of  a  man,  even  when 


148  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

he  has  taken  leave  of  his  conscience.  0 !  if  there 
be  some  among  you  who  have  ceased  to  hearken  to  its 
voice,  if  not  altogether,  at  least  when  it  is  lifted  up 
against  some  favourite  lust;  and  if,  notwithstanding 
this,  you  feel  that  conscience  has  not  forsaken  you, 
0 !  recognize  in  it,  I  beseech  -you,  the  good  angel  of 
God.  0  Judas !  even  now  thou  mayst  own  thy  Lord ; 
even  now  thou  mayst  retrace  thy  steps.  When  Peter, 
after  his  denial  of  his  Master,  felt  the  rebuking  glance 
of  love,  then,  we  read,  he  went  out  and  wept  bitterly. 
Judas  too  might  have  done  this;  but  certainly  it  had 
been  more  difficult  for  him  to  have  done  so  then,  than 
it  would  have  been  an  hour  before ;  for  the  armed 
crowd  now  guarded  the  door  of  the  garden,  and  his 
own  accomplices  would  have  arrested  him  in  his  flight. 
For  the  path  of  sin  becomes  with  every  onward  step 
more  easy ;  and  the  warnings  and  admonitions  of  con- 
science, those  angels  of  God,  when  despised  and  un- 
heeded, are  changed  into  angels  of  vengeance,  who 
stand  in  the  way  to  prevent  the  hapless  sinner's 
return,  and  urge  him  down  the  ever-steepening  descent. 
Thus  the  armed  crowd  behind  Judas  would  now  have 
prevented  his  egress.  And  thus  the  steps  which  a 
man  takes  in  such  a  path  become  an  armed  crowd 
which  hurry  him  involuntarily  forward,  and  bar  his 
retreat.  And  is  not  the  fact  that  sin  becomes  at  last 
involuntary,  is  not  this  one  of  the  most  fearful  charac- 
teristics of  sin  ? 

That  he  should  have  betrayed  the  Son  of  Man  with 
the  sign  of  reverence  and  love,  is  a  testimony  to  the 
terror  of  his  conscience  while  committing  the  act ;  but 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  149 

it  is  also  a  proof  of  the  turpitude  of  that  act.  For 
with  every  step  in  the  downward  path  of  sin,  the 
means  by  which  the  sinner  would  seek  to  purchase  the 
silence  of  his  conscience,  become  ever  more  censura- 
ble, ever  more  detestable.  To  have  made  use  of  that 
very  sign  of  love,  which'  as  such  is  hallowed  by  all 
men,  to  have  made  use  of  that  as  a  sign  of  treachery, 
who  does  not  shudder  at  the  very  thought?  Does  not 
sin,  and  with  reason,  appear  to  us  all  the  more  hor- 
rible, in  proportion  as  it  employs  as  its  means  what  is 
in  itself  holy?  A  theft  committed  by  a  depraved 
child,  an  assassination  in  a  church,  poison  adminis- 
tered by  means  of  the  host,  such  are  instances  of  the 
class  of  crimes  to  which  that  of  treason  by  a  kiss 
belongs.  We  are  shocked  at  it  because  it  is  so  base, 
so  hypocritical,  so  false ;  even  although  we  may  feel 
that  in  this  case  the  exercise  of  physical  force  by  one 
of  his  disciples  would  have  been  perhaps  even  more 
revolting.  Judas !  what  a  firebrand  must  that  kiss 
have  become  in  thy  conscience !  Poor  son  of  perdi- 
tion, when  thou  touchedst  those  sacred  lips,  which 
were  so  soon  to  grow  pale  in  death  through  that  kiss 
of  thine;  say,  didst  thou  not  then  think  of  those 
moments  when,  from  that  holy  mouth,  it  was  thy 
privilege  to  hear  words  such  as  besides  no  human 
mouth  had  ever  spoken  to  thee  ?  Didst  thou  not  then 
call  to  mind  the  moments  when  thou  durst  look  into 
that  mild  and  holy  eye  without  alarm  of  conscience, 
with  blessed,  rejoicing  heart?  Ah  yes!  that  kiss  did 
become  a  firebrand  in  thy  soul ! 

Let  us  turn  our  eye  from  this  sad  treachery  itself, 


150  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

in  order  to  direct  our  attention  to  the  words  of  tlie 
Redeemer.  We  saw  him  rise  a  few  minutes  before,  in 
the  deepest  perturbation  of  spirit,  from  that  soul-con- 
flict. And  now  observe  what  a  divine  repose  is  dis- 
closed in  the  words  with  which  he  receives  his  traitor, 
"Judas,  betrayest  thou  the  Son  of  Man  with  a  kiss?" 
There  is  no  ebullition  of  anger  here :  indeed,  the  pure 
mirror  of  that  holy  soul  was  ever  unruffled  by  the 
storm  of  human  passion.  There  is  not  even  an  ex- 
pression of  grief  at  the  thought  of  the  bitter  cup  of 
which  that  kiss  was  the  immediate  precursor.  He 
thinks  not  of  himself  at  all ;  he  thinks  only  of  the  son 
of  perdition;  he  has  at  present  no  eye  for  his  own 
sorrow,  but  only  for  the  crime  of  his  betrayer.  Do 
you  not  recognize  in  these  words  the  deep  calm  of  the 
Saviour's  breast  that  has  followed  the  storm;  the 
undisturbed  repose  which  has  succeeded  that  commo- 
tion which  had  stirred  the  very  depths  of  his  soul? 
We  witness  here,  once  more,  that  repose  and  self-pos- 
session of  spirit  which,  in  all  his  words  and  all  his 
works,  we  have  marked  as  one  of  his  most  rare  and 
wonderful  characteristics. 

This  is  the  last  word  that  he  exchanges  with  the 
son  of  perdition,  and  that  last  word  is  still  a  word  of 
love.  He  had  spoken  so  many  words  of  love  to  him 
already,  but  they  had  passed  away  from  his  soul,  as 
drops  of  rain  which  fall  upon  burning  stones. 
Already  Christ  had  said,  "What  thou  doest,  do 
quickly;"  and  it  seems  as  if,  with  these  words,  he 
meant  to  give  up  the  son  of  perdition  to  his  doom,  as 
if  the  Saviour  were  then  surrendering  him  to  hell; 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  151 

but  he  has  yet  for  him  a  word  of  questioning  love. 
Of  questioning  love!  he  might  have  had  a  question- 
ing word  of  thunder  to  hurl  at  his  soul;  he  might  at 
least  have  called  down  a  woe  upon  him — but  he  does 
not  rebuke,  he  does  not  imprecate.  He  does  but  put 
a  question  to  him,  and  may  we  not  say,  as  long  as  a 
question  can  be  made  to  find  a  passage  to  his  heart, 
so  long  we  may  surely  hold  it  possible  for  that  heart 
to  respond  to  that  question.  Soiyie  sound  in  reply 
may  even  now  be  heard  in  the  recesses  of  his  breast. 
Even  now  the  Lord  does  not  appear  to  have  pro- 
nounced over  Judas  that  most  fearful  word  that  a 
sinner  can  hear,  although  one  might  have  expected  it 
after  the  words,  "What  thou  doest,  do  quickly." 
And  to  every  child  of  perdition  does  the  pitying  heart 
of  the  Redeemer  address  the  same  question;  and 
even  should  he  be  standing  on  the  very  brink  of  the 
abyss,  if  Jesus  puts  the  question,  an  answer  to  it  is 
still  possible,  a  return  is  still  possible.  0  ye  who 
have  not  yet  lent  an  ear  to  his  questionings,  would 
that,  even  in  the  last  moments,  you  might  hear  them. 
But  truly,  after  one  has  once  and  again  heard  him  in 
vain,  the  capacity  to  hear  becomes  dull,  and  the  ques- 
tions of  Jesus  come  upon  the  soul  like  the  muffled 
sound  of  distant  thunder.  Then,  even  questions  of 
love  lose  their  power  to  awake;  they  can  only  alarm. 
Could  we  but  follow  the  life  of  a  man  who  had 
walked  in  the  ways  of  righteousness,  and  had  subse- 
quently fallen  away  from  the  truth,  and  could  we 
number  the  questions  of  love  which  God  had  from  the 
very  first  addressed  to  his  heart,  what  a  sad  impres- 


152  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF    CHRIST. 

sion  would  be  the  result  of  such  an  exercise !  At  first, 
a  timid,  scarcely  decisive,  "Yes,  Lord!"  then  one, 
loud  and  strong,  would  be  his  response.  Then,  as  the 
sinner  grew  bold  in  iniquity,  the  *'Yes"  would  be- 
come feebler  and  more  uncertain,  until  in  the  end  it 
died  away  altogether,  or  was,  perhaps,  changed  into  a 
"No"  of  bold  defiance.  When  at  the  beginning  the 
Lord  put  the  question,  "Will  ye  also  go  away?" 
Judas  could  understand  it,  and  knew  how  to  answer 
it.  That  was  the  question  of  love:  alas,  what  was 
the  state  of  his  heart  when  this  last  was  addressed  to 
him! 

It  was  not  a  thunder- word  of  rebuke  that  the  Lord 
poured  forth  upon  him,  it  was  not  a  denunciation  of 
woe;  there  was  love,  nay,  there  was  even  a  ray  of 
hope  in  this  warning  question.  But,  along  with  this, 
how  distinctly  here  does  insulted  Majesty  utter  its 
voice!  This  love  is  no  weak,  sentimental  emotion;  he 
does  not  say,  0  dear  disciple,  how  canst  thou  commit 
so  great  a  crime  against  me,  thy  loving  Master  ?  No ; 
the  words  are  few,  and  solemn;  and  they  bear  the 
stamp  of  wounded  love,  the  stamp  of  the  majesty  of 
insulted  royalty — "Judas,  betrayest  thou  the  Son  of 
Man  with  a  kiss?"  What  we  have  characterized  as 
most  abhorrent  in  this  kind  of  treason,  that  what  men 
regard  as  the  consecrated  sign  of  love  should  be  used 
as  a  cloak  of  iniquity,  is  precisely  what  our  Lord 
brings  prominently  forward.  But  more  than  that, 
he  points  to  the  dignity  of  him  who  is  thus  given  up 
to  death.  All  human  relationships  fall  into  the  back- 
ground.    Not  a  word  to  indicate  that  he  whom  he 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  153 

was  betraying  is  the  traitor's  friend  and  benefactor. 
"Thou  hast  betrayed  the  Son  of  Man,"  the  man  with- 
out fault,  without  sin,  the  man  through  whom  alone  it 
is  that  humanity  rises  to  its  true  and  proper  dignity. 
See  with  what  majesty  the  Lord  speaks  of  himself. 
He  does  not  place  the  traitor  before  a  human  tribunal, 
he  brings  him  before  the  throne  of  God ;  for  it  is  not 
merely  against  a  human  heart,  against  human  feelings, 
that   he  has  transgressed,  but  against  the  heart  of 
God,  in  giving  up  the  only-begotten  Son  of  God.    At 
that  very  moment,  when  the  Saviour's  human  feelings 
might  the  most  readily  have  spoken,  it  is  the  feeling 
,  of  insulted  Divine  Majesty  alone  that  speaks. — Alas! 
that  word  could  be  for  Judas  an  angel  of  deliverance 
no  longer;  for  that  it  was  now  too  late:  and  since  it 
could  not  be  a  delivering  angel,  it  became  an  aveng- 
ing angel  which  allowed  the  whole  weight  of  his  guilt 
to   fall   upon   his    conscience — the   guilt  of    insulted 
Majesty.     When    that   conscience   cried  out,    "Thou 
hast  betrayed  innocent  blood,"  he  must  add.  Ay,  and 
that  innocent  blood  was  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  Man, 
of  the  Saviour  of  Israel — and  it  was  with  the  sign  of 
love  that  I  betrayed  it. 

And  what  does  all  this  teach  us  f  Does  it  all  apply 
only  to  the  case  of  a  wicked  man,  and  has  it  no  con- 
cern with  such  pious  people  as  we  are?  Is  there, 
then,  no  one  amongst  us  who  is  seeking  to  deceive  his 
conscience?  If  so,  has  it  not  been  your  experience, 
that  every  step  you  leave  behind  you  in  the  path  of 
sin,  rises  up  as  a  barrier  to  prevent  your  return,  nay, 
becomes  a  minister  of  justice,  impelling  you  on  in  the 
14 


154  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

downward  course  ?  Then  are  you  ignorant  of  tlie  ques- 
tions of  love  with  which  the  gracious  Lord  follows  one 
even  until  he  stands  on  the  brink  of  the  abyss?  Are 
there  none  here  who  have  betrayed  the  love  of  the 
Son  of  Man,  and  who  are  still  betraying  that  love, 
day  by  day  ?  We  may  not  have  come  so  far  in  the 
descending  path  down  which  Judas  rushed,  we  may 
not  be  so  near  the  abyss  as  he  was;  but  every  man  is 
in  that  path  who  deceives  his  conscience,  and  con- 
sciously turns  traitor  to  the  love  of  the  Son  of  Man. 
Ye  secure  souls !  who  as  often  as  you  hear  the  Divine 
call,  "To-day,  if  ye  will  hear  his  voice,"  are  content 
with  thinking  to-morrow  will  be  time  enough — let 
that  word  of  alarm  fall  with  new  power  upon  your 
conscience,  that  a  time  will  come  when  it  will  be  said, 
"It  is  too  late!"  Learn  from  the  example  of  Judas, 
that  a  time  will  come,  if  ye  despise  the  grace  of  God, 
when  God's  angels  of  deliverance  themselves  shall 
become  to  your  hardened  hearts  ministers  of  ven- 
geance. Learn  from  his  example,  that  he  who  in 
carelessness  and  carnal  security  is  ever  plunging 
forwards,  without  pausing  to  reflect,  will  find,  when 
at  length  he  has  reached  the  fatal  abyss,  and  fain 
would  turn  and  go  back,  that  he  cannot  go  back; 
nay,  the  despair  of  his  own  conscience  hurries  him 
headlong  down  into  the  abyss.  He  that  hath  ears  to 
hear,  let  him  hear!  He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let 
him  hear !     Amen  ! 


SUFEERINGS    AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  155 


SERMON  III. 

THE    SILENCE    OF    JESUS. 

Matthew  xxvi.  62.— And  the  high-priest  arose,  and  said  unto  him, 
Answerest  thou  nothing?  what  is  it  which  these  witness  against 
thee? 

We  have  already  listened  to  some  of  the  words  of 
Jesus  in  the  time  of  his  passion.  The  Lord  has  still 
many  a  great  word  to  address  to  our  heart  and  con- 
science from  the  history  of  that  time.  To-day,  how- 
ever, we  will  listen  to  the  silence  of  Jesus,  and  let 
that  speak  to  us. 

The  last  word  has  been  uttered  which  our  Lord 
exchanged  with  the  traitor;  Jesus  is  delivered  up  to 
his  enemies ;  Jesus  is  bound,  and  is  conducted  into  the 
presence  of  his  judges.  After  a  hasty  examination 
before  Annas  the  high-priest,  he  is  brought  before  his 
real  judge,  Caiaphas.  It  is  midnight.  The  children 
of  night  have  begun  their  dark  work  in  the  hour  which 
could  most  truly  be  called  their  own,  as  our  Lord 
himself  said,  "This  is  your  hour,  and  the  power  of 
darkness."  It  is  midnight,  the  members  of  the  high 
council  have  hastily  come  together— probably  not  in 
full  numbers,  as  a  decree  of  sufficient  authority  is  not 
passed  till  early  next  day— the  decree  then  passed  is, 
"He  is  worthy  of  death."  There  were  in  that  coun- 
cil some  who  would  never  have  concurred  in  that  ver- 
dict of  guilty,  such  as  Nicodemus,  and  Joseph  of  Ari- 
mathea;  but  at  this  time  they  were  probably  not  pre- 


156  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

sent,  and  on  the  morrow  they  were  out-voted.  (Luke 
xxiii.  51.)  False  witnesses  came  and  said,  "He  has 
said,  I  am  able  to  destroy  the  temple  of  God,  and  to 
build  it  in  three  days."  And  now  we  read.  Matt, 
xxvi.  62,  ''And  the  high  priest  arose,  and  said  unto 
him,  Answerest  thou  nothing  ?  what  is  it  which  these 
witness  against  thee?     But  Jesus  held  his  peace.'' 

We  read  also  in  two  other  passages  of  Jesus  being 
silent  in  the  presence  of  his  unrighteous  judges. 
"And  when  Herod  saw  Jesus,  he  was  exceeding  glad: 
for  he  was  desirous  to  see  him  of  a  long  season,  because 
he  had  heard  many  things  of  him ;  and  he  hoped  to 
have  seen  some  miracle  done  by  him.  Then  he  ques- 
tioned with  him  in  many  words;  but  he  answered 
him  nothing."  (Luke  xxiii.  8,  9.)  And,  once  more: 
"When  Pilate  therefore  heard  that  saying,  he  was  the 
more  afraid;  and  went  again  into  the  judgment-hall, 
and  saith  unto  Jesus,  'Whence  art  thou?'  But  Jesus 
gave  him  no  answer."  (John  xix.  9.)  In  this  repeated 
silence  of  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  his  accusers  and  of 
his  unrighteous  judges,  there  is  a  testimony  for  him, 
there  is  a  sermon  for  us.  This  silence  is  a  testimony 
for  Jesus,  for  it  testifies  to  the  repose  of  his  soul ;  then 
to  his  sublimity;  and  finally  to  his  consciousness  of 
the  righteousness  of  his  cause. 

Not  to  answer  cutting  and  unrighteous  accusations 
in  any  other  way  than  by  silence,  requires  in  the  first 
place  a  deep  repose  of  soul ;  and  to  this,  the  silence  of 
Jesus  in  the  presence  of  the  high-priest  and  of  his 
accusers  gives  testimony.  You  know,  all  of  you,  how 
false  accusation  causes  the  sickened  heart  to  boil  with 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CnRIST.  157 

agitation,  and  how  readily  one  seeks  to  give  vent  to 
the  pent-up  torrent  of  replication  that  fills  his  breast, 
in  a  flood  of  counter-accusations  and  counter-invec- 
tive. We  have,  however,  already  cast  a  glance  on  the 
profound  calm  of  the  soul  of  Jesus,  which  succeeded 
to  the  violent  perturbation  of  the  garden.  Let  us 
then  at  once  go  on  to  consider  the  testimony  which 
this  silence  of  Jesus  affords  to  his  sublimity. 

Would  not  any  answer  which  he  could  have  given 
have  testified  that  the  questioned  stood  on  an  equal 
footing  with  the  questioner,  the  accused  with  the 
accuser  ?  Being  silent,  is  a  testimony  to  the  chasm 
between  the  two  parties,  a  chasm  so  great  that  the 
very  words  of  the  accusation  of  the  one  cannot  be  so 
much  as  taken  up  by  the  other.  So  long  as  Jesus 
speaks,  he  is  still  knocking ;  when  Jesus  is  silent,  then 
it  is  that  he  gives  up.  It  is  only  before  those  that  he 
has  given  up  that  he  is  silent.  His  silence  is  a  judg- 
ment. By  his  silence  he  judges  and  by  his  silence  he 
condemns  a  high-priest,  a  king,  and  a  governor. 
What  effect  on  Herod  the  silence  of  Jesus  had,  when, 
arraigned  before  him  as  one  accused,  he  answered 
nothing  to  his  questions,  we  do  not  read.  But  of 
Pilate  we  read  that  he  exclaimed  in  amazement, 
"Answerest  thou  me  nothing?"  He  who  breaks  off 
in  such  a  manner  with  his  judges  or  accusers  must, 
moreover,  be  possessed  of  the  full  consciousness  that 
his  fate  rests  in  other  hands  than  theirs.  Speaking 
with  reference  to  this  silence  of  our  Lord,  Peter  says, 
''Who,  when  he  was  reviled,  reviled  not  again;  when 
he  suffered,  threatened  not,  but  committed  it  to  him 
14* 


158  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

that  judgeth  righteously."  See  here  the  testimony  of 
his  consciousness  of  the  rectitude  of  his  cause.  Even 
Pilate  was  sensible  of  this,  although  he  was  a  man 
little  wont  to  recognize  any  other  measure  of  justice 
than  that  which  is  furnished  by  the  scales  which 
earthly  power  assigns.  In  surprise  he  exclaims, 
"  Speakest  thou  not  with  me,  knowest  thou  not  that  I 
have  power  to  crucify  thee,  and  have  power  to  release 
thee?"  And  Jesus  points  him  to  the  truth  that  the 
scales  of  justice  were  committed  to  him  by  a  higher 
hand:  "Thou  couldest  have  no  power  at  all  against 
me,  except  as  it  were  given  thee  from  above."  Thus 
it  is  that  he  places  his  own  judges  before  the  highest 
of  all  tribunals. 

This  calm,  this  sublime,  this  God-given  silence,  is 
charged  with  a  lesson  for  us  also,  and  we  shall  there- 
fore dwell  upon  it  a  little  longer.  It  opens  up  to  us 
a  question  which,  in  many  relations  of  life,  is  of  the 
highest  importance.  If  Jesus  was  silent  before  his 
unrighteous  judges,  and  on  the  occasion  of  such  an 
accusation,  when  should  a  disciple  of  Jesus,  when 
brought  before  unrighteous  judges,  be  silent,  and  when 
is  it  then  for  him  a  "  time  to  speak?" 

I  .am  not  surely  in  error  when  I  assume,  that  many 
a  one  among  you  has  proposed  to  himself  this  ques- 
tion in  some  fierce,  hard-pressed  hour  of  life.  If  this 
has  not  already  occurred  to  you,  rest  assured  it  will 
be  your  experience,  according  as  you  learn  more  of 
men  and  of  the  human  heart;  and  in  proportion  as 
you  take  the  pattern  of  Christ  more  and  more  for  a 
light  to  your  feet.     Ought  not,  let  us  ask,  the  disci- 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHllIST.  159 

pie  of  Jesus  to  be  silent  when  his  Lord  is  silent,  and 
to  speak  when  he  speaks  ? 

It  is  certainly  possible  in  the  presence  of  unjust 
judges  to  speak  out  of  season,  but  undoubtedly  it  is 
also  possible  to  be  silent  when  we  ought  to  speak. 
Jesus  himself  was  not  always  silent  in  the  presence  of 
the  unjust  judge.  When  the  high-priest  said  to  him, 
*'I  adjure  thee  by  the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us 
whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God?"  was 
Jesus  silent  then?  No;  then  he  spoke  and  testified, 
"Thou  hast  said."  When  Pilate  asked  him,  "Art 
thou  a  king?"  was  Jesus  silent  then?  No;  then  he 
spoke  and  testified,  "  Thou  sayest,  I  am  a  king." 
And  when  before  the  high-priest  one  of  the  servants 
struck  him  with  the  palm  of  his  hand,  and  said, 
"Answerest  thou  the  high-priest  so?"  here  again 
Jesus  was  not  silent,  but  answered,  "  If  I  have  spoken 
evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil,  but  if  well,  why  smitest 
thou  me?"  When  is  it  then  a  time  for  us  to  be  silent, 
and  when  is  it  a  time  to  speak  ?  It  is  a  time  to  be 
silent  when  complete  insensibility,  and  irretrievable 
iyifirmity  of  will,  or  worldliness  of  mind  has  deprived 
your  antagonist  of  the  capacity  to  understand.  Thus 
was  Jesus  silent  in  the  presence  of  Herod — thus  was 
he  silent  in  the  presence  of  Pilate.  It  is  a  time  to  be 
silent  when  gross  falsehood  testifies  against  itself  in 
the  conscience  of  the  accusers,  that  is,  in  the  case  of 
men  whose  hearts  are  so  irrecoverably  hardened,  that 
with  ears  to  hear  still  they  will  not  hear.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  is  a  time  to  speak  when  even  with  the 
grossest  blasphemy  it  is  still  an  erring  conscience  that 


160  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

speaks :  thus  Jesus  spoke  in  reply  to  the  servant  of 
the  high-priest.  Again  it  is  a  time  to  speak  when  the 
question  at  issue  is  not  your  own  private  cause  but 
that  of  universal  truth :  thus  Jesus  spoke  before  the 
high-priest  and  before  Pilate. 

It  is,  then,  a  time  to  be  silent,  when  complete  insen- 
sibility, and  irremediable  imbecility  have  deprived 
the  accuser  of  the  capacity/  to  understand.  This  was 
the  case  with  Herod  Antipas,  Tetrarch  of  Galileee,  in 
whose  presence  Jesus  kept  silence.  Many  may  think 
that  to  all  appearance  he  was  deserving  of  a  word  from 
Jesus.  Was  he  not  "exceeding  sorry"  when  he  had 
to  give  his  consent  to  the  execution  of  John  the  Bap- 
tist in  the  prison?  Do  we  not  read  in  Mark  vi.  20, 
the  unexpected  intelligence  that  he  visited  the  prophet 
in  his  captivity,  nay,  that  he  even  heard  him  gladly, 
and  did  many  things  according  to  his  counsel  ?  And 
we  know  that  this  Elias,  this  son  of  thunder,  when  he 
spoke  with  princes,  was  not  like  such  court  preachers 
as  tremble  before  princes,  because  they  do  not  make 
God  their  fear  and  dread.  Assuredly  he  did  not  aim 
at  pleasing  men's  ears  with  soft,  soothing  words,  but 
rather  at  reaching  and  arousing  the  conscience  by  the 
might  of  simple  unvarnished  truth.  Thus  the  plea- 
sure Herod  took  in  this  Elijah-like  preacher  is  a  cir- 
cumstance which  speaks  certainly  in  his  favour.  Yes, 
even  this  Herod  must  have  had  his  better  moments, 
he  must  have  had  some  interest  in  the  things  of  God ; 
and  have  we  not  a  proof  of  this  in  the  joy  he  feels  at 
seeing  Christ,  and  the  hope  he  entertains  of  witnessing 
some  miracle  wrought  by  him.     And  yet,  Jesus  was 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  161 

silent.  It  was  the  very  silence  of  Jesus  before  him 
that  condemned  the  man,  for  it  showed,  to  the  solemn 
warning  of  all,  of  what  value  the  religiousness  of  a 
weak  voluptuary  is.  For  that  he  was  such,  history 
informs  us,  as  well  as  the  Divine  record ;  we  read  of 
this  servant  of  sin  that  he  seduced  the  wife  of  his  own 
brother.  It  was  on  account  of  this  very  crime  that 
the  Baptist  gave  him  the  rebuke  in  return  for  which 
that  preacher  of  repentance  received  the  reward  of 
imprisonment.  He  who  has  become  the  servant  of 
lust  loses  thereby  command  over  his  own  will.  Observe 
what  in  the  case  of  this  weakling  is  so  hopeless — he 
permits  the  Baptist  to  preach  before  him,  and  yet  he 
does  not  free  him  from  his  fetters;  he  honours  him, 
and  yet  he  allows  the  artifice  of  a  woman  and  the 
intoxication  of  an  evening  entertainment  to  prevail 
with  him,  so  as  to  make  him  deliver  up  to  the  hands 
of  the  executioner  this  man,  so  honoured  by  the  whole 
people,  and  by  himself  also.  So  much  is  the  religious- 
ness of  those  servants  of  the  flesh  worth,  who  have  no 
control  over  their  own  will.  Their  good  intentions, 
fine  discourses,  fair  pictures  of  imagination,  alas,  what 
becomes  of  them  all  when  they  are  called  to  bring 
them  into  action  ?  While  their  imagination  is  playing 
an  idle  game  with  religion,  their  will  is  all  the  while 
earnestly  busy  with  sin.  This  royal  weakling  who, 
for  the  sake  of  a  woman,  had  given  up  into  the  hands 
of  the  executioner  a  man,  whom  he  himself  recognized 
as  a  prophet  of  God,  is  held  by  Jesus  unworthy  of  a 
reply,  because,  on  account  of  his  irremediable  weak- 


162  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

ness  of  character,  any  reply  would  have  been  lost  upon 
him. 

In  the  case  of  Pilate,  too,  it  might  appear  at  first 
sight  as  if  his  question  was  deserving  of  an  answer. 
The  whole  appearance  of  Jesus  had  already  impressed 
him  as  something  strange  and  unaccountable.  When 
the  Jews  said.  He  made  himself  the  Son  of  God,  we 
read  of  him  that  "he  was  the  more  afraid."  Even  in 
this  man's  empty  and  thoroughly  earth-bound  soul, 
there  arises  a  question  which  has  relation  to  heavenly 
things:  What!  could  it  possibly  be,  that  what  the 
ancients  tell  us  in  their  fables  of  the  sons  of  their  gods, 
who  wandered  upon  the  earth,  could  it  be  that  these 
fables  had  become  really  true  ?  This  question  arises 
within  him.  He  comes  once  more  before  Jesus,  and 
asks,  "Whence  art  thou,"  art  thou  a  being  from 
another  world?  He  asks,  full  of  amazement  and 
anxiety,  but  to  this  question  Jesus  returns  no  answer. 
You  are  surprised  at  this,  brethren,  and  it  is  perhaps 
natural  that  you  should  be.  But  you  must  not  forget 
what  had  preceded.  When  Jesus  had  said  to  Pilate, 
"  Thou  sayest  it,  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end  was  I  born, 
and  for  this  end  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I  should 
bear  witness  unto  the  truth" — that  God-forsaken 
worldling  had  turned  his  back  upon  him,  with  the 
sneering  exclamation,  "  What  is  truth  ?"  Now  observe, 
the  man  whose  mind  is  so  perverted  and  so  debased 
that  he  doubts  and  despairs  of  truth — such  a  man 
receives  from  Jesus  no  answer.  And  then  can  it  be 
that  a  man  should  turn  his  back  upon  a  king,  at  the 
very  moment  when  he  is  asserting  his  royal  rights, 


I 

SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     163 

and  yet  go  unpunished?  No.  And  yet  that  is  what 
Pilate  did;  yea,  he  did  more  than  this,  he  turned  his 
back  upon  the  King  of  Truth  at  the  very  moment 
when  he  was  asserting  before  him  his  kingly  dignity ! 
He  who  understood  him  not  when  he  confessed  him- 
self to  be  the  King  of  Truth,  would  he  have  under- 
stood him  if  he  had  revealed  himself  as  the  only- 
begotten  from  the  Father's  bosom?  Who  is  there 
that  thinks  it  likely?  Thus  Jesus  was  silent  before 
Pilate  on  account  of  his  utter  insensibility. 

Further,  it  is  a  time  to  be  silent  when  gross  false- 
hood testifies  against  itself  in  the  conscience  of  the 
accusers ;  that  is,  in  the  case  of  men  whose  hearts  are 
so  irrecoverably  hardened,  that,  though  with  ears  to 
hear,  they  will  not  hear.  Thus  it  was  with  the  high- 
priest.  *^Answerest  thou  nothing?  what  is  it  which 
these  witness  against  thee?"  asks  the  dissembler,  and 
he  has  all  the  while  the  answer  in  his  own  conscience. 
Shall  we  say  that  Jesus  ought  to  have  spoken  then. 
No;  for  at  that  moment  any  word  from  without  had 
been  feebler  than  the  word  of  conscience  from  within. 
Only  give  the  malicious  defamer  a  few  moments  of 
silence ;  do  not  you  answer  him,  let  him  alone  to  lis- 
ten to  the  voice  of  conscience.  While  you  are  silent, 
his  conscience  will  speak  more  powerfully  in  your 
favour  than  any  answer  you  could  give  him.  There 
is  preserved  to  us  another  instance  of  the  silence  of 
Jesus  in  similar  circumstances,  where  you  may  clearly 
discover  this.  When  Jesus  said,  with  reference  to  the 
woman  taken  in  adultery,  of  whom  we  read  in  the  Gos- 
pel, "He  that  is  without  sin  among  you,  let  him  first 


164  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

cast  a  stone  at  her,"  lie  stooped  down  and  wrote  on  the 
ground,  and — was  silent.  How  in  these  silent  moments 
had  conscience  begun  to  carry  on  its  work  in  the  breast 
of  those  hypocritical  accusers!  "And  they,  being 
convicted  of  their  own  conscience,  went  out  one  by 
one,  beginning  at  the  eldest,  even  unto  the  last."  See 
how  powerfully  conscience  speaks  when  you  are  silent. 
Thus  Jesus  was  silent  before  the  high-priest  on  account 
of  his  hopeless  hardness  of  heart. 

And  now,  consider  on  what  occasions  Jesus  spoke. 
He  was  silent  before  the  high-priest,  he  spoke  before 
his  servant ;  he  was  silent  before  the  insult  of  words, 
he  spoke  before  him — how  shall  we  say  it? — who 
insulted  him  by  deed,  who  struck  him  with  the  rod  in 
his  hand.  Men  are  astonished  at  this,  they  cannot 
account  for  it ;  then,  too,  what  Jesus  does  say  appears 
to  them  far  too  little,  just  as  if  one  would  ward  oif  a 
blow  from  a  club  with  his  little  finger.  But  when, 
these  words  are  weighed  more  closely,  how  great  does 
Jesus  appear !  Why  did  he  speak  here,  and  why  did 
he  speak  so  mildly?  My  answer  is.  It  was  because 
the  man  had  committed  the  outrage  with  an  erring 
conscience,  and  in  his  zeal  for  a  consecrated  office. 
"Answerest  thou  the  high-priest  so?"  cried  the  man. 
Do  you  not  see  that  it  is  not  for  a  private  affair  of  his 
own  that  this  servant  of  the  high-priest  burns  with 
zeal,  but  for  a  sacred  office  ?  Now,  his  speaking  at 
all  on  this  occasion,  and  his  using  language  of  such 
mildness,  reveal  in  a  very  wonderful  way  the  unper- 
turbed repose  of  the  Lord,  and  at  the  same  time  his 
condescending   grace.     He  is  meek  in  the   midst  of 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  165 

this,  his  own  deepest  degradation;  for  even  in  the 
outburst  of  a  brutal  passion,  he  recognizes  the  sacred 
spark  of  truth,  respect  for  the  authority  appointed  by 
God.  Observe,  also,  how  Jesus  in  his  reply  enters 
into  the  feelings  of  the  man,  lets  himself  down  to  his 
level,  as  it  were.  That  man,  who  with  erring  con- 
science was  so  zealous  for  the  cause  of  right,  is  the 
very  one  whom  he  tranquillizes  by  simply  and  nobly 
referring  to  the  injustice  of  the  action:  "If  I  have 
spoken  evil,  bear  witness  of  the  evil :  but  if  well,  why 
smitest  thou  me  ?"  And  thus,  the  reason  why  he,  who 
was  silent  before  king,  governor,  and  high-priest, 
opened  his  mouth  before  the  poor  blinded  servant  of 
earthly  justice,  was  because,  even  in  his  coarse  mis- 
treatment, the  voice  of  an  erring  conscience  spoke. 

Again  Jesus  spoke,  and  was  not  silent,  when  the 
cause  at  stake  did  not  concern  his  own  private  inter- 
ests, but  that  of  universal  truth.  He  was  not  silent 
when  the  high-priest  asked  him,  "I  adjure  thee  by 
the  living  God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God?"  neither  was  he  silent  when 
Pilate  asked  him,  "Art  thou  a  king  then?"  And 
the  reason  he  was  not  silent  on  these  occasions  was, 
in  order  that  we  should  know  what  we  ought  to 
answer  questions  of  similar  import.  If  Jesus  had 
been  silent  then,  could  this  congregation  now  open 
its  mouth,  and  with  joy  confess,  Yes,  he  is  the  Son  of 
the  living  God,  he  is  the  King  of  Truth?  He  was 
not  silent  because  he  could  then  witness  a  confession 
which  would  be  echoed  back  from  a  million  of  hearts, 
which  thousands  were  to  seal  with  their  blood.  On 
15 


166  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

account  of  this  confession,  Paul  holds  him  up  to  our 
imitation,  when,  writing  to  Timothy,  he  says,  "I  give 
thee  charge  before  Christ  Jesus,  who  before  Pontius 
Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession."  (1  Tim.  vi.  13.) 
By  that  confession,  with  which  Christ  signed  his  own 
sentence  of  death,  he  has  taught  us  that  we  too  must 
confess,  and  that  we  must  confess  the  truth,  even  if 
such  a  confession  implies  the  sealing  our  own  death- 
warrant.  Jesus  spoke  on  these  occasions,  because  it 
was  not  his  own  interest,  but  the  interest  of  the  whole 
human  race  that  was  involved. 

0  that  the  Spirit  of  the  holy  God,  which  guided 
him  when  he  was  silent,  which  guided  him  when  he 
spoke,  would  teach  us  all,  according  to  his  example, 
to  speak  and  to  keep  silence  as  God  will !  And  truly 
it  is  intelligible  enough  that,  of  the  two  tasks,  that  of 
being  silent  in  accordance  with  the  holy  example  of 
the  Lord,  will  often  appear  to  us  the  most  difficult; 
for  who  is  there  that  has  not  felt  the  power  of  passion 
which  would  break  forth  whenever  the  unrighteous, 
slanderous  accusation  has  been  made,  or  when  we 
have  to  defend  our  cause  in  the  presence  of  unjust 
judges?  Now,  I  could  refer  you  to  that  which,  in 
many  such  cases,  prudence  would  direct.  And  is  not 
true  piety  at  the  same  time  the  highest  wisdom  ?  Do 
we  not  see  also  here  the  truth  of  what  the  apostle 
says,  that  already  in  this  life  piety  has  the  promise  ? 
0,  in  how  many  cases  is  silence  in  the  presence  of 
obtuseness  and  malice  a  greater  act  of  prudence  than 
the  most  eloquent  discourse  could  be !  But  of  that  I 
will  not  speak;   for  here  we  preach   higher  motives 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     167 

than  the  mere  dictates  of  earthly  prudence ;  here  we 
preach  the  example  of  him,  "  who,  when  he  was 
reviled,  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  threat- 
ened not;  but  committed  his  cause  to  him  that  judgeth 
righteously."  (1  Peter  ii.  23.) 

Such  is  the  holy  pattern  of  the  stainless  Lamb  of 
God.  Whoever  among  you  who  loves  him,  whoever 
among  you  glows  at  the  contemplation  of  that  spot- 
less Lamb,  as  he  stands  before  his  judges  in  the 
majesty  of  silence,  0 !  let  him  learn  to  calm  the 
passion  of  his  breast,  let  him  learn  to  pacify  the 
rising  of  his  anger  when  unjustly  accused.  I  address 
myself  to  you,  young  men.  You  are  proud  that  you 
can  be  angry  in  a  righteous  cause,  and  you  are  right ; 
for  he  must  be  a  weakling  indeed,  whose  soul  cannot 
be  all  on  fire  for  the  righteous  cause.  But  on  the 
other  hand,  that  young  man  who,  when  the  flame 
even  of  righteous  anger  is  kindled,  and  would  break 
forth  from  his  breast,  cannot  then  suppress  it,  in  the 
view  of  the  holy  silence  of  Jesus,  such  an  one  will 
not  at  least  dare  to  call  himself  a  disciple  of  Jesus. 
Your  righteous  anger  is  good;  and  yet — if  at  any 
time  you  lose  command  over  it,  or,  if  you  are  not 
strong  enough  to  say  at  the  proper  time  to  the  storm 
of  your  breast,  "Be  still!  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  be 
still!" — it  is  nothing  more  than  the  lurid  flame  of 
natural  passion  after  all.  It  may  be  dijEcult  for  you 
to  keep  silence  when  falsely  accused,  as  Jesus  did. 
But,  believe  me,  it  is  far  from  easy  to  speak,  when 
falsely  accused,  as  Jesus  spoke.  I  doubt  if  there  is 
so    much  as   one  here  present,  who,  at  the  moment 


168  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

when  the  servant  of  justice  dared  to  lay  a  violent 
hand  upon  the  Son  of  God — who  at  that  very  moment, 
1  say,  would  have  heen  capable  of  thinking  of  the 
erring  conscience  of  that  man,  of  recognizing  in  the 
fire  of  the  coarsest  passion  the  spark  of  divine  light 
that  still  burned  there — that  is,  his  respect  for  the 
existing  authorities — and  who  could  with  meekness 
have  corrected  his  error.  See  also  what  a  testimony 
there  is  in  these  words  of  Christ  to  the  regard  he 
paid  to  the  authorities  which  were  appointed  by  God. 
Your  passion  boils  if  you  receive  a  single  wrong,  and 
that,  it  may  be,  merely  an  apparent  wrong;  while 
Jesus  remains  meek  and  mild  even  under  the  grossest 
misusage,  because  he  respects  the  reverence  for  God- 
appointed  order,  even  when  shown  in  conjunction 
with  the  blindest  zeal.  Could  there  be  a  more  pow- 
erful appeal  in  favour  of  the  reverence  which  the 
disciples  of  Christ  owe  to  that  authority,  which  is 
appointed  as  his  representative  on  earth.  See,  then, 
how  hard  it  is,  in  the  face  of  unrighteous  accusation, 
to  speah  like  Jesus ! 

0,  all  of  you  who  feel  this,  fold  your  hands,  and  let 
us  pray :  0  Father  of  mercies !  forgive  thy  children, 
who  cannot,  even  in  an  unrighteous  cause,  suppress 
the  passion  of  their  breast !  0  Father,  thou  hast 
surely  promised  to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that 
ask  him  of  thee — we  pray  thee  for  thy  Holy  Spirit — 
help  thy  weak  disciples — grant  unto  them  thy  Holy 
Spirit,  that  they  may  have  command  over  their  pas- 
sion. 0  thou  Saviour,  who  art  meek  and  lowly  in 
heart,  let  thine  example  shine  before  us  and  in  us,  in 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  169 

order  that  we  may  learn  to  be  silent  and  to  speak  like 
thee.     Amen ! 


SERMON   IV. 

THE    OATH    OF    JESUS. 

Matthew  xxvi.  63,  64. — But  Jesus  held  his  peace.  And  the  high- 
priest  answered  and  said  ixnto  him,  I  adjure  thee  by  the  living 
God,  that  thou  tell  us  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  God. 
Jesus  saith  unto  him,  Thou  hast  said:  nevertheless,  I  say  unto 
you,  Hereafter  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right 
hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven. 

Let  us  take  up  our  subject,  beloved,  where  we  left 
off  in  our  last  meditation.  Jesus  stands  before  his 
unrighteous  judges.  The  false  accusers  have  given 
their  testimony.  "Answerest  thou  nothing?"  asks 
the  high-priest  of  him.  "What  is  it  which  these  wit- 
ness against  thee?"  Bat  Jesus  was  silent.  What 
this  sublime  silence  was  intended  to  teach  the  high- 
priest,  what  it  was  intended  to  teach  us,  we  have 
already  considered  and  laid  to  heart.  To-day  will,  I 
trust,  be  made  clear  to  you,  what  is  implied  in  those 
words  of  Jesus,  when  he  at  length  breaks  silence,  and, 
in  reply  to  the  summons  of  the  high-priest,  begins  to 
speak.  You  will  find  the  words  of  our  text  in  Mat- 
thew xxvi.  63,  64:  ''And  the  high-priest  answered 
and  said  unto  him,  I  adjure  thee  hy  the  living  Grod, 
that  thou  tell  us,  whether  thou  be  the  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God.  Jesus  saith  unto  him.  Thou  hast  said: 
15* 


170  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

nevertheless,  I  say  unto  you.  Hereafter  shall  ye  see 
the  Son  of  Man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power^ 
and  coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven.'^ 

Thus  then  Jesus  breaks  the  silence  he  had  kept,  for 
he  speaks  not  on  his  own  account,  but  for  mankind ; 
he  does  not  make  a  statement  merely,  no,  Jesus  makes 
an  oath,  Jesus  swears  by  the  living  God.     As  in  our 
courts,  the  judge  administers  the  oath,  so  does  the  high- 
priest  here,  and  by  a  solemn  Amen,  the  accused  makes 
that  oath  his  own.     This  Amen,  Jesus  utters  here  in 
the  words,  "Thou  sayest."     This  lets  us  see  in  what 
sense  we  are  to  understand  that  command  of  Christ, 
*'I  say  unto  you.  Swear  not  at  all."  (Matthew  v.  34.) 
The  oaths  of  which  he  speaks  cannot  surely  be  those 
which    are   taken   in  courts  of  justice    ordained   by 
God,  in  holy  reverence,  as  before  the  great,  unseen 
Avenger.     Such    oaths,    brethren,   are  themselves  a 
service    rendered  to   God.     Know   you   not  what  is 
written  in  the  Scriptures,  that  "when  God  made  pro- 
mise  to  Abraham,    because   he    could   swear  by  no 
greater,    he   sware   by   himself."    (Hebrews  vi.   13.) 
No ;  it  is  not  those  oaths  which  belong  to  the  service 
of  God  that  Christ  forbids,  but  only  those  which  pro- 
ceed  from   forgetfulness    of  God;    the    oaths   which 
Christ  reproves,  are  not  those  which  the  heart  swears, 
but  only  such  oaths  as  the  tongue  utters,  and  with 
which  the  heart  has  nothing  to  do.     It  is  your  oaths 
and  asseverations  of  which  he  speaks,  ye  God-forget- 
ing  tongues,  from  which  you  allow  the  greatest  of  all 
names  to  pass,  without  thinking  in  the  most  remote 
degree  that  you  are  speaking  of  him  who  fashioned 


SUEFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  171 

that  tongue  ■within  your  mouth,  and  gave  you  the 
breath  which  is  within  your  breast!  When  Jesus 
litters  an  oath,  he  utters  it  in  the  service  of  God ;  and 
if  it  could  be  said  that  there  were  ever  moments  in 
his  life  when  his  soul  was  less  near  to  God  than  at 
other  times — certain  it  is  that  at  this  moment  he  was 
very  near  him.  A  feeling  of  peculiar  solemnity  seizes 
us,  when  we  see  a  man  preparing  to  offer  an  oath,  we 
then  experience  somewhat  of  the  presence  of  God. 
How  much  more  powerfully  must  we  feel  this  holy 
frame  of  mind,  when  Jesus  is  himself  about  to  swear 
by  the  living  God ! 

It  was  not  for  himself  that  the  Lord  delivered  this 
testimony  and  confirmed  it  by  an  oath.  What  did  he 
gain  by  this  testimony?  For  him  it  was  the  signing 
of  his  own*  death-warrant.  No.  It  was  for  mankind 
that  he  testified — for  us  he  testified.  His  words  are 
intended  to  prove :  a  stay  for  the  doubter,  a  terror  to 
the  adversary,  a  strong  consolation  for  his  followers, 
both  then  and  at  all  times. ' 

It  was  a  stay  for  the  doubter;  and  first,  for  those 
of  that  time.  You  are  aware,  that  at  that  time  poli- 
tical and  religious  hopes  were  mixed  up  together  in 
the  minds  of  the  Jewish  people ;  that  the  nation  very 
confidently  expected  that  their  Messiah  was  to  be  a 
king,  who,  endowed  with  the  seven  spirits  of  the 
Lord,  was  to  prepare  for  himself  a  holy  people;  but 
who,  at  the  same  time,  was  to  smite  with  armed  hand 
the  rod  of  Romish  supremacy  to  the  ground,  and  to 
raise  the  fallen  sceptre  of  Israel.  Jesus,  however, 
had  declared,  "My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 


172  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

Observe  with  what  earnestness  he  seeks  to  prevent 
the  mingling  of  the  flame  of  earthly  ardour  with 
heavenly  zeal — of  their  political  with  their  religious 
hopes.  And  does  not  this  teach  us  something,  in 
these  times  in  which  we  live?  Does  it  not  call  our 
attention  to  the  danger  which  threatens  the  religious 
communities  of  our  time,  and,  among  others,  that 
Evangelical  Union  of  Germany,  in  itself  so  hopeful 
— our  Gustavus-Adolphus  Society — which,  at  its  com- 
mencement, I  addressed  in  this  city  and  from  this 
place.  What  a  fatal  danger  would  threaten  that 
Union,  were  tendencies  to  find  their  way  into  it, 
which  have  for  their  end  something  else  than  the 
honour  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  alone,  and  the  alle- 
viation of  the  need  of  the  brethren  in  the  faith !  See 
with  what  care  the  Saviour  guarded  against  permitting 
the  earthly  flame  to  be  kindled  side  by  side  with  the 
heavenly.  He  rejoiced  when,  in  the  narrower  circle 
of  his  disciples,  he  heard  the  confession  of  his  divine 
Sonship  sound  from  the  depths  of  the  soul  of  Peter. 
He  unveiled  himself  in  his  divine  dignity  to  such 
simple  natures  as  the  woman  at  the  well,  and  the  man 
born  blind.  But  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  of  the 
people  he  was  silent  on  the  subject,  and,  even  on  the 
occasion  of  his  entry  into  Jerusalem,  it  was  only  by 
his  actions  that  he  gave  expression  to  the  fact,  that  he 
was  entering  Zion  as  Zion's  King.  He  would  ever 
be  found  only  by  those  who  sought  him,  would  open 
only  to  those  who  knocked.  Thus,  we  may  believe, 
there  were  many  among  those  people  upon  whom  the 
ray  of  his  light  had  fallen  only  from  afar,  who  were 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  173 

Still  inquirers  and  doubters.     They  knew  tliat  he  was 
a  Master  come  from  God,  as  Nicodemus  said;  what 
they  were  in  doubt  about  was,  what  he  may  have  been 
more  than  this.     They  knew  that  when  he  opened  the 
mouth  he  could  not  utter  falsehood,  but  to  them  he 
had  not  yet  made  himself  known.     Now  he  reveals 
himself,  confirming  with  an  oath  in  the  name  of  the 
living  God  what  he  declares— "I  am  he  to  whom  the 
whole  of  the  preceding  history  of  Israel  has  pointed 
for  thousands  of  years.     I  am  he  whom  the  mouth  of 
the  prophets  has  foretold  as  the  Desire  of  Israel,  as 
the  Consolation  of  the  Heathen;  I  am  Christ,  the  Son 
of  God."     01  what  an  anchor  was  that  for  doubting 
souls  to  make  fast  to !     Nicodemus,  for  instance,  what 
must  he  not  have  felt  at  the  word,  how  must  his  heart 
have  rejoiced!     When,  afterwards,  they  lifted  up  on 
the  cross  the  King  of  Israel  to  whom  his  soul  had 
rendered  its  homage— when,  surrounded  with  male- 
factors on  the  right  and  on  the  left,  he  breathed  out 
his  pure  life— the  waves  of  doubt  may  have  at  that 
moment  closed  over  his  head;  but  perchance,  even  at 
that  moment,  his  soul  may  have  seized  hold  of  the 
anchor  which  the  words  of  our  text  held  out  to  him ! 
"Nevertheless,"  he  may  have  exclaimed,  "neverthe- 
less my  Jesus  has   sworn  that  it  is  he   that   is  the 
anchor  of  my  hope,  and  it  reaches  far  beyond  the 
cross,  and  beyond  the  grave!" 

Thus  the  doubters  found  strength  and  support  in 
this  word  of  Jesus.  And  tell  me,  ye  doubters  of  this 
present  time,  ye  who  are  still,  even  in  this  very  hour, 
inquiring,   "Who  was  Christ?"   even  after  eighteen 


174  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

centuries  have  answered  the  question — if  the  history 
of  these  centuries,  if  the  simple  word  of  Jesus  has  not 
satisfied  you — say,  do  ye  not,  at  least  in  that  oath  of 
Jesus,  which  he  sware  by  the  living  God,  recognize 
who  he  is,  and  find  in  that  oath  an  anchor  for  your 
doubting  souls?  Say,  do  you  not  feel  at  least  that 
thus  much  is  certain :  Were  it  even  possible  that  the 
word  of  falsehood  could  have  passed  from  those  holy 
lips,  surely  in  such  a  moment  that  was  impossible! 
In  whatever  stage  we  may  be  of  our  Christian  life, 
whether  we  are  children  in  the  faith,  or  men — whether 
we  have  a  soul  like  Thomas,  or  like  Peter,  Nicode- 
mus,  or  John — still  we  all  feel  alike,  and  with  the 
greatest  certainty,  that  in  the  moment  when  Jesus 
uttered  these  words  of  our  text,  he  spoke  the  truth. 
Now  if  it  is  incontestably  certain  that  it  was  the  truth 
which  Jesus  then  spoke,  how  can  you  go  on  asking, 
Who  was  Christ?  just  as  if  he  had  then  given  no 
answer  at  all  to  the  question  of  the  high-priest.  "An 
oath  of  confirmation  is  an  end  of  all  strife,"  is  the  lan- 
guage of  Scripture.  What !  and  when  Christ  afiirms 
with  an  oath  who  he  is,  shall  the  controversy  about 
Jesus  not  yet  be  ended  ?  0  no,  my  Jesus !  for  me  it  is 
enough,  if  thou  dost  only  speak,  my  soul  bows  before 
thy  word — how  much  more  when  thou  addest  the  con- 
firmation of  an  oath  by  the  living  God !  In  so  far  as 
I  am  concerned,  thy  simple  word  has — God  be 
praised! — made  an  end  of  all  strife.  And  even  if 
history  had  been  silent,  if  thy  grave  had  never  opened 
its  voice,  I  should  still  with  Nicodemus  hold  by  the 
anchor  of  thy  word — now  I  know  who  thou  art.    Thou 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  175 

hast  declared  that  thou  art  the  promised  One.  Thus 
know  Ij  by  thine  oath,  that  thou  art  the  seed  of  the 
woman  which  should  bruise  the  head  of  the  serpent; 
thou  art  the  seed  of  Abraham  in  whom  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth  should  be  blessed;  thou  art  the  Shiloh 
unto  whom  the  gathering  of  the  people  should  be ;  thou 
art  the  Prince  of  peace,  of  the  tribe  of  David,  of  whose 
peace  there  is  no  end.  This  I  know,  for  thou  hast 
sworn  it  by  the  living  God ! 

The  answer  of  our  Lord  is  a  stay  for  the  doubter, 
but  it  is  equally  a  terror  to  the  adversary  in  those  and 
in  all  times.  Listen  to  the  first  awful  words  with 
which  the  accused  summons  his  judges  before  the  bar 
of  his  tribunal:  "From  henceforth  shall  ye  see  the 
Son  of  man  sitting  on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and 
coming  in  the  clouds  of  heaven."  We  understand  less 
what  these  words  implied  than  they,  to  whom  they 
were  addressed,  did.  At  the  hearing  of  those  words, 
ancient,  sacred  recollections  would  come  into  their 
memory ;  they  would  recognize  the  reference  to  the 
prophetic  word.  Let  us  put  ourselves  in  the  place  of 
Caiaphas  and  his  fellow-councillors,  and  see  what  they 
must  have  thought  and  felt  on  hearing  words  like 
these.  "I  saw,"  thus  writes  the  prophet  Daniel,  "in 
the  night  visions,  and,  behold,  one  like  the  Son  of 
man  came  with  the  clouds  of  heaven,  and  came  to  the 
Ancient  of  days,  and  they  brought  him  near  before 
him.  And  there  was  given  him  dominion,  and  glory, 
and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations,  and  lan- 
guages, should  serve  him :  his  dominion  is  an  everlast- 
ing dominion,  which  shall  not  pass  away,  and  his  king- 


176  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

dom  that  wliich  sliall  not  be  destroyed.  I  Daniel  was 
grieved  in  my  spirit  in  the  midst  of  my  body,  and  the 
visions  of  my  head  troubled  me."  (Dan.  vii.  13,  14.) 
This  word  of  prophecy  came  up  before  their  soul. 
The  '''Son  of  Man" — do  you  remember  how  often 
the  Lord  makes  use  of  this  mysterious  designation,  in 
speaking  of  himself?  He  had  referred  to  this  word 
of  prophecy  in  that  expression ; — he  had  directed 
those  who  would  inquire  more  deeply  than  others  to 
the  fact,  that  he  who  had  appeared  in  the  flesh  was 
he  who  claimed  as  his  due  the  seat  on  the  right  hand 
of  power.  And  how  before  Caiaphas  he  gives  this 
idea  clear  and  decided  expression.  As  if  he  had 
said,  "The  time,  during  which  ye  have  seen  me  in 
my  humiliation  as  the  Son  of  man,  is  now  past, 
another  scene  is  about  to  open,  in  which  you  shall  see 
me  only  at  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  from  which 
you  see  me  descend  only  on  the  clouds  of  heaven." 
The  firmness  and  calm  sublimity  which  the  Saviour 
showed  in  giving  this  witness  of  himself,  cannot  have 
been  altogether  without  efi'ect  on  the  minds  of  those 
present.  However  hardened  we  may  think  the  hearts 
of  the  members  of  that  council  to  have  been,  we  cannot 
doubt  that  as  he  uttered  these  words,  a  thrill  of  emo- 
tion passed  through  the  soul  of  many  there,  and  that 
only  in  a  low  and  trembling  voice  one  and  another 
would  speak  of  them  to  his  neighbour.  "The  man 
can  have  been  no  fanatic,"  we  may  imagine  them  to 
have  said,  "  who,  with  so  calm,  self-conscious  a  repose, 
summons  us  here  before  the  bar  of  God."  And  if 
they  said  it  not — the  time  was  at  hand  when  they 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     177 

were  with  their  own  eyes  to  see  that  this  Jesus  sat  on 
the  right  hand  of  power.  The  judgment  upon  Israel, 
that  was  the  proof  that  he  had  attained  his  kinglj 
dignity:  he  had  referred  to  this,  when  he  stood  on 
the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  looked  down  upon  the  city 
with  tears;  he  referred  to  it  when  he  went  for  the 
last  time  out  of  the  temple  with  the  words,  "Your 
house  is  left  unto  you  desolate.  Ye  shall  not  see  me 
henceforth,  till  ye  shall  say,  'Blessed  is  he  that  cometh 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord;'  "  he  had  referred  to  it  even 
when,  fainting  beneath  the  burden  of  his  own  crucifix- 
ion-sorrows, he  said,  "  Behold,  the  days  are  coming  in 
the  which  they  shall  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains, 
Tall  on  us,  and  to  the  hills.  Cover  us.'" 

When  the  flames  seized  the  temple  of  God,  when 
the  holy  place  of  Jerusalem  fell  in  smoking  ruins,  they 
must  have  been  able  to  see,  and  deeply  apprehend, 
the  truth,  that  that  very  Jesus  whom  they  had  con- 
demned had  sat  down  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  and 
from  that  time  forward  would  descend  only  upon  the 
clouds  of  heaven.  The  historian  Eusebius  relates, 
that  thousands  of  Israelites  became  believers,  when, 
in  the  judgments  on  Jerusalem,  they  were  compelled 
to  own  the  avenging  hand  of  their  despised  Redeemer, 
and  the  fulfilment  of  his  prophecies.  And  thus  the 
answer  of  Jesus  in  the  presence  of  his  judges  became 
truly  then  a  terror  to  his  adversaries. 

These  words  of  Christ  are,  moreover,  well  fitted  to 

strike  terror  into  his  adversaries  in  all  times.     My 

Christian  hearers,  can  it  be  that  Christ  who  spoke  no 

untruth,  when  he  said  before  the  high-priest,  that  he 

16 


178  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

was  the  Son  of  God  become  man,  and  confirmed  the 
declaration  by  an  oath,  uttered  falsehood  when  he 
added,  that,  to  him  who  had  descended  into  such  a 
deptji  of  humiliation,  the  place  on  the  right  hand  of 
power  was,  from  that  time  forward,  assigned,  and  that 
into  his  hands  all  power  in  heaven  and  earth  was  given  ? 
And  if  that  word  was  truth,  then  consider,  0  ye  adver- 
saries! against  whom  ye  are  opposing  yourselves.  It 
is  not  against  the  child  of  man  that  has  passed  away, 
it  is  against  a  present,  living  Lord,  who  now  shares  in 
his  majesty  the  throne  of  Omnipotence. with  the  ever- 
lasting God,  and  into  whose  power,  along  with  the 
heaven  and  the  earth,  ye  too  are  given  over,  for  your 
salvation  or  your  endless  perdition.  It  was  a  lamb 
that  ye  slew.  A  lion,  the  Lion  of  the  tribe  of  Judah, 
will  come  forth  in  battle  against  you.  Have  you  not 
heard  the  divine  salutation  with  which  the  father 
receives  his  Son,  when  he  came  from  the  cross  and 
the  grave  to  sit  down  upon  his  throne:  "Sit  thou  on 
my  right  hand,  until  I  make  thine  enemies  thy  foot- 
stool." He  must  sit  on  the  right  hand  of  the  Father, 
until  the  Father  had  himself  made  his  enemies  his 
footstool.  With  the  day  of  Pentecost  his  campaign  in 
the  world  began,  and  it  has  been  carried  on  ever 
since.  And  what  were  his  troops?  They  were 
twelve  humble  Jews,  unfurnished  with  any  other  wea- 
pon, whether  of  assault  or  of  defence,  but  the  preach- 
ing of  one  who  had  been  crucified ;  and  on  the  other 
side,  in  hostile  array  against  those  twelve,  the  whole 
world  was  ranged.  How  unequal  does  the  conflict 
appear !     Ye  twelve  men  of  Judea,  ye  would  go  forth 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  179 

to  conquer  the  world.  How  irrational  the  idea,  how 
vain  the  result  must  prove !  But  you  who  say  so  are 
not  looking  beyond  the  men  who  are  combating  upon 
earth.  Why,  see  you  not  that  strong  arm  from 
heaven  which  is  fighting  with  those  weaklings  upon 
earth  ? 

Listen  to  that  ancient  war-song  of  the  militant 
Church  of  Christ:  "With  human  might  is  nothing 
done;  and  trusting  in  ourselves,  we  soon  should  fall." 
Behold  how,  one  after  another,  the  enemies  of  Christ 
have  been  compelled  to  lie  in  the  dust  before  the  little 
troop  of  his  warriors!  Judgment  began  with  the 
hardened  inhabitants  of  the  land  of  Judea.  It  was 
judged.  Since  the  temple  fell,  never  to  rise  again, 
Israel  ceased  to  have  its  ancient  religion,  for  it  had  no 
longer  any  king,  any  priest,  any  sacrifice.  Is  there 
not  inscribed  upon  the  smoking  ruins  of  Jerusalem  the 
words,  "Be  not  deceived,  God  is  not  mocked"?  And 
since  that  time  how  many  enemies,  both  without  the 
Church  and  within  it,  have  been  compelled  to  become 
the  footstool  of  his  throne!  Tell  me,  you  who  are 
read  in  the  history  of  nations,  was  it  in  any  way  to 
be  expected,  according  to  what  usually  happens  among 
men,  that  that  colossus  of  the  Roman  Empire,  which 
then  encompassed  the  world,  should  be  subdued  by 
mere  words,  by  the  mere  preaching  of  that  small  band 
of  Jews  ?  And  what  was  the  theme  of  the  preaching 
which  produced  such  mighty  results  ?  It  was  a  man 
that  had  been  crucified  in  Judea,  whose  ignominy  and 
shame  had  been  manifest  before  the  whole  world,  but 
whose  resurrection-glory  only  a  few  faithful  friends 


180  SUFFERINaS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

Lad  witnessed.  Was  it  likely,  according  to  what  is 
wont  to  happen  among  men,  that  the  emblem  of  shame, 
the  cross,  would  one  day  shine  on  a  monarch's  brow, 
would  one  day  glitter  as  a  mark  of  honour  on  a  hero's 
breast;  that  it  would  rise,  a  touching  memorial,  in 
woods  and  in  fields;  and  that,  above  all  the  cities  of 
Europe,  it  would,  from  its  high  elevation,  signalize  to 
the  distant  traveller,  as  a  sign,  that  there  too  men 
were  wont  to  bow  the  knee  in  the  name  of  the  Cruci- 
fied? "It  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  is  marvellous  in  our 
eyes.  The  stone  which  the  builders  rejected,  has 
become  the  corner-stone." 

That  which  is  a  terror  to  the  adversaries,  is  also  a 
source  of  consolation  to  his  followers.  And,  indeed, 
is  it  not  even  so  ?  Thus,  this  word  of  the  Lord  was  a 
word  of  consolation  then  to  those  who  believed  on 
him.  No  doubt,  when  the  sad  reality  rose  up  in  over- 
whelming power  before  them,  the  comfort  that  these 
words  conveyed  was  shut  out  from  their  eyes,  along 
with  so  many  other  words  of  comfort.  But,  after  the 
reality,  so  full  of  pain,  had  been  succeeded  by  another 
reality,  equally  full  of  joy,  when,  at  the  feast  of  Pen- 
tecost, they  witnessed  the  first  manifestation  of  their 
glorified  Lord,  they  again  recalled  all  the  words  of 
comfort  which  they  had  forgotten — they  would  then 
understand  the  import  of  this  word  too,  for  they  could 
refer  for  its  elucidation  to  his  acts,  which  proved  so 
wondrously  that  the  Son  of  Man  was  indeed  sitting  on 
the  right  hand  of  power.  "Therefore  being  by  the 
right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having  received  of  the 
Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  he  hath  shed 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.    181 

forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear."  This  is  the 
exclamation  of  Peter,  when  the  tongues  of  fire  began 
to  burn  upon  their  heads,  and  the  tongues  of  their 
mouth  to  speak  in  the  new  languages  which  the  Spirit 
taught.  And  now  they  know  him  henceforth  only  as 
he  who  sitteth  at  the  right  hand  of  power;  sustained 
by  his  arm,  they  now  go  forth  courageously  into  the 
conflict,  courageously  to  death.  Stephen,  the  first 
martyr,  sees,  as  the  earth  closes  to  him,  the  heavens 
open,  and,  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  exclaims,  "I  see 
the  heavens  opened,  and  the  Son  of  Man  standing 
upon  the  right  hand  of  God."  And  thus  had  the 
word  which  the  Lord  spoke  before  the  high-priest 
become,  to  their  consolation,  revived  and  renewed  in 
their  hearts. 

And  that  open  heaven  which  Stephen  saw,  is  open, 
my  brethren,  now  and  for  evermore,  above  His  fight- 
ing Church.  "  Crucified  in  weakness,  Christ  liveth  in 
the  power  of  God;"  this,  as  Paul  saith,  is  the  conso- 
lation of  his  disciples  in  all  times,  and  also  in  this. 
This  is  their  consolation  in  the  conflicts  of  their 
Church;  it  is  also  their  consolation  in  the  combats  of 
their  own  hearts.  Christians  of  the  Evangelical  Church ! 
we  too  have  seen  him  in  very  recent  years,  coming  to 
us  from  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  on  the  clouds  of 
heaven.  Are  not  the  times  of  resurrection  in  his 
Church — is  not  the  fact  that,  as  often  as  his  enemies 
have  thought  that  they  had  succeeded  in  entombing 
her,  the  stone  has  ever  been  rolled  away  from  the 
grave,  as  by  an  unseen  hand,  and  the  Lord  has  gone 
forth  glorified — is  not  this  a  proof  that  he  who  was 
16* 


182  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

crucified  in  weakness,  lives  and  reigns  in  power  at  the 
right  hand  of  the  Father  ?  It  was  with  this  feeling 
that  the  Christianity  of  Germany  was  penetrated, 
when,  in  the  days  of  the  Reformation,  the  garden  of 
God  shot  forth  and  bloomed  all  around  in  the  fair 
flowers  of  the  Christian  graces ;  when  a  fresh  young 
branch  grew  upon  the  old  tree  of  Christianity,  and 
flourished  and  became  green,  at  the  very  time  in  which 
the  old  trunk  appeared  to  be  devoted  to  destruction. 
Then  one  exclaimed  with  joy,  "Behold,  he  sitteth  on 
the  right  hand  of  power,  and  comes  on  the  clouds  of 
heaven!"  And  may  not  we  repeat  the  cry  now,  in 
these  days ;  we  who,  in  spite  of  all  that  we  must  lament 
and  bewail,  are  nevertheless  in  truth  celebrating  now 
a  new  spring  time  in  the  Evangelical  Church,  as  both 
within  his  Church,  and  without,  among  the  heathen, 
one  victory  after  another  is  gained  by  the  Captain  of 
Salvation?  Is  it  not  a  marvellous  thing  in  our  eyes, 
that  the  stone  which  the  builders  rejected,  which  the 
servants  of  the  Church  themselves  would,  in  their  short- 
sightedness, have  made  use  of  merely  to  fill  up  some 
aperture  in  the  building,  is  become  once  more  the  head 
of  the  corner.  The  members  of  the  Church  are,  once 
more,  become  living  stones  in  the  temple  of  God,  and 
exclaim  with  new  tongues,  "He  that  was  crucified  in 
weakness,  he  it  is  who  liveth  and  reigneth  in  power 
on  the  right  hand  of  God!"  Let  the  Church  evermore 
carry  on  her  attacks  against  the  two  hostile  camps, 
which,  still  in  our  days,  hold  the  field  in  opposition  to 
her;  the  one  foe  is  the  army  of  the  unbelieving,  who 
would  raze  her  fair  foundations ;  and  the  other  is  the 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  183 

Church  of  Rome,  which  seeks  to  build  on  that  precious 
foundation,  wood,  straw,  stubble.  We  fear  you  not! 
You  are,  indeed,  no  other  than  our  ancient  enemies ! 
In  how  many  conflicts  has  He  already  defeated  you ! 
Take  comfort,  thou  little  flock,  the  word  of  the  oath 
stands  sure,  above  all  strife,  above  all  doubt:  "From 
this  time  forth,  shall  ye  see  the  Son  of  Man,  sitting 
on  the  right  hand  of  power,  and  coming  in  the  clouds 
of  heaven." 

Comfort,  little  flock,  amid  the  conflicts  of  your  own 
heart!  For  you,  too,  the  word  of  the  oath  stands 
sure  above  all  doubt,  and  above  all  strife.  Take  con- 
solation from  the  thought,  that  not  alone  have  we  to 
maintain  the  conflict,  not  alone  have  we  to  fight  our 
battles.  Are  not  our  enemies,  at  the  same  time,  the 
enemies  of  our  Lord?  And  did  not  he,  when  he 
ascended  from  the  cross,  sit  down  at  the  right  hand  of 
power,  that  he  might  make  all  his  enemies  his  foot- 
stool. When  we  think  of  ourselves,  we  are  dis- 
couraged, but  we  become  bold  and  brave  when  we 
think  of  him ;  when  we  think  of  ourselves  we  succumb, 
but  we  conquer  when  we  think  of  him.  Therefore, 
once  more,  courage,  you  little  flock,  courage  also  amid 
your  own  battles.  Only  look,  and,  if  you  have  the 
eye  of  faith,  as  Stephen  had,  you  will  see  him  stand- 
ing, at  the  right  hand  of  power,  ready  to  fight  with  us 
and  for  us.  Have  but  the  eye  of  faith,  as  Peter  had, 
when  he  owned,  at  the  feast  of  Pentecost,  that  he  who 
is  at  the  right  hand  of  God  is  that  same  Lord  who 
makes  ready  for  his  people  a  Pentecostal  feast.  He 
is  still  standing  there,  he  is  standing  at  the  right  hand 


184  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

of  power,  and  gives  his  Spirit,  gives  Pentecostal  bless- 
ings, to  all  who  ask  them.  0  believe  it  only !  and 
your  faith  will  also  this  day  prove  itself  the  victory 
that  overcometh  the  world.  Know  you  not  the 
weapons  with  which,  in  every  age,  believers  have 
gained  their  victories?  Faith,  prayer,  and  tears — 
such  are  the  weapons  with  which,  at  all  times,  the 
Church  has  conquered.  Let  us  lay  hold  of,  let  us 
wield  these  weapons ;  and,  amid  the  conflicts  of  our 
own  spirit,  and  of  the  Church,  in  order  that  we  may 
thus  impart  courage  to  our  heart,  and  nerve  to  our 
arm,  let  us  sing  that  war-song  of  the  Church  of 
•  Christ: 

With  force  of  arms  we  nothing  can, 

Full  soon  were  we  down-ridden, 

But  for  us  fights  the  proper  Man 

"Whom  God  himself  hath  bidden. 

Ask  we,  Who  is  this  same  ? 

Christ  Jesus  is  his  name ; 

The  Lord  Zebaoth's  Son: 

He  and  no  other  one 

Shall  conquer  in  the  battle.        Amen. 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  185 


SERMON    y. 

THE  TESTIMONY  OF  JESUS:    "MY  KINGDOM  IS  NOT  OF  THIS   WORLD." 

John  xviii.  33-36.  —  Then  Pilate  entered  into  the  judgment-hall 
again,  and  called  Jesus,  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  the  King  of 
the  Jews?  Jesus  answered  him,  Say  est  thou  this  thing  of  thyself, 
or  did  others  tell  it  thee  of  me?  Pilate  answered.  Am  I  a  Jew? 
Thine  own  nation  and  the  chief  priests  have  delivered  thee  unto 
me.  What  hast  thou  done?  Jesus  answered.  My  kingdom  is  not 
of  this  world.  If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then  would  my 
servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  delivered  to  the  Jews :  but 
now  is  my  kingdom  not  from  hence. 

Let  us  betake  ourselves  once  more  in  thought  to  that 
night  which  preceded  the  day  of  the  death  of  the 
Redeemer.  The  stony  heart  of  Caiaphas  is  unmoved 
by  the  solemn  asseveration  of  Jesus; — it  continues 
unimpressed,  even  when  the  accused  serves  him  with 
that  solemn  citation  before  the  bar  of  God.  Midnight 
is  past,  the  morning  dawns,  and  we  now  see  Jesus 
brought  before  the  judgment-seat  of  Pilate,  with  the 
priests  for  his  accusers.  In  those  days  the  sentence 
of  death,  which  the  spiritual  ruler  in  Israel  had 
passed,  in  order  to  be  valid,  required  to  receive  the 
seal  of  the  secular  authority;  hence  it  is  that  the 
priests  appear  with  their  victim  before  the  governor. 
The  high-priest,  however,  knows  well  the  man  with 
whom  he  has  to  deal.  Evil-doers  are  the  most  acute 
to  recognize  evil  in  others.  He  knows  the  weak  point 
in  the  equity  of  the  Roman  governor;  he  knows  that 
he  is  much  more  likely  to  fear  the  god  who  has  estab- 
lished his  throne  in  Rome  than  the  God  of  heaven. 


186  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

Hence  the  accusation  they  bring  before  him  is  not  a 
religious  but  a  political  one :  "  He  says  that  he  is  a 
king,  he  would  establish  a  kingdom."  The  admission 
concerning  his  kingdom  which  Jesus  made  before  the 
procurator  shall  furnish  the  subject  of  our  present 
discourse.  We  read  in  John  xviii.  33-36:  '•'Then 
Pilate  entered  into  the  judgment-hall  again,  and 
called  Jesus,  and  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  the  King 
of  the  Jews  f  Jesus  answered  him,  Say  est  thou  this 
thing  of  thyself,  or  did  others  tell  it  thee  of  me? 
Pilate  answered,  Am  I  a  Jew  f  Thine  own  nation 
and  the  chief  priests  have  delivered  thee  unto  me. 
What  hast  thou  done?  Jesus  answered,  My  king- 
dom is  not  of  this  world.  If  my  kingdom  were  of 
this  world,  then  would  my  servants  fight,  that  I 
should  not  he  delivered  to  the  Jews ;  hut  now  is  my 
kingdom  not  from  hence.'' 

Art  thou  the  King  of  the  Jews  ?  asks  the  governor, 
certainly  not  without  a  feeling  of  contempt  for  the 
nation  he  despised,  at  the  thought  that  such  an  one 
could  presume  to  call  himself  its  king.  Jesus  replies 
with  the  simple  earnestness  of  truth,  "Sayest  thou 
this  thing  of  thyself,  or  did  others  tell  it  thee  of  me?" 
Hast  thou  seen  in  me  anything  to  lead  thee  to  form 
the  conclusion,  or  hast  thou  not  rather  in  thine  own 
conscience  a  witness  to  the  malice  of  the  accusation? 
Pilate,  irritated  by  the  very  demand,  implying,  as  it 
seemed  to  do,  that  he  paid  any  attention  to  the  affairs 
of  the  Jews,  exclaimed,  "Am  I  a  Jew;" — that  I 
should  trouble  myself  with  such  concerns  as  these? 
And  now  follows  the  declaration  which  Jesus  made 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  187 

before  Pilate  concerning  his  kingdom.  In  it  lie  makes 
an  affirmation,  he  affirms  that  he  has  a  kingdom,  and 
that  he  has  servants ;  but  he  also  makes  a  denial — 
"My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world." 

Let  us  consider  more  closely  what   Christ  has  in 
these  words  denied  concerning  the  nature  of  his  king- 
dom.    ''My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  ivorld,''  he  says: 
''Now  is  my  kingdom  not  from  hence,''  that  is  to  say, 
it  is  not  a  kingdom  like  those  of  this  world,  neither 
has  it  arisen  from  hence.     How  then  has  he  attained 
to   his    sovereignty?      Not  certainly  in  the  way  in 
which  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  come  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  powerful.     And  how  is  it  that  the  king- 
doms of  this  world  are  acquired?     It  must  be  either 
by  inheritance  or  by  conquest.     But  Christ,  although 
born  a  king,  did  not  receive  his  kingdom  by  inherit- 
ance.    Upon  the  throne  of  his  sovereignty  he  was 
preceded  by  none.     It  is  a  throne  upon  which  before 
him   none   ever  sat,  neither  shall    any  after  him  sit 
thereon.     As  little  did  he    obtain   his   kingdom   by 
acquisition.      He   was    called   to    his    throne   by   no 
human  authority,  by  no  convention  of  the  nation,  his 
crown  came  immediately  from  God.      No  tumult  of 
battle  was  heard,  when  His  empire  was  founded;  no 
blood  flowed  around  his  throne — saving  only  his  own. 
This  he  could  substantiate  by  clear  proofs.     Worldly 
kingdoms  must  be  maintained  as  they  are  won,  and 
so  he  says,  "  If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then 
would  my  servants  fight,  that  I  should  not  be  deli- 
vered to  the  Jews."     But  he,  when  he  was  about  to 
be  delivered,  bade  Peter  put  his  sword  into  its  scab- 


188  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

bard,  and  the  last  act  of  those  hands  before  they  were 
bound — hands  ever  wont  to  distribute  blessings — was 
a  work  of  mercy  and  of  peace,  in  healing  that  slight 
wound,  the  only  one  ever  inflicted  for  his  sake.  He 
touched  the  ear  of  the  servant  of  the  high-priest,  and 
healed  him.  As  the  kingdom  of  Christ  had  not  been 
established  by  the  power  of  the  flesh,  neither  was  it 
so  to  be  maintained.  This  is  a  truth  which  flesh  and 
blood  are  slow  indeed  to  apprehend,  as  is  evident  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  so  readily  forgotten.  How  often  do 
we  require  that  the  Lord  should  repeat  the  command 
to  us.  Put  up  thy  sword  into  its  scabbard!  How 
easily  does  the  opinion  find  its  way  into  the  Church 
of  God,  that  the  great  and  powerful  of  the  earth 
must,  after  all,  be  a  stronger  and  surer  stay  than  the 
faith  of  the  congregation !  How  hard  does  each  one 
of  us  find  it  to  learn  that  fundamental  law  of  the 
kingdom  of  God,  that  it  is  only  he  that  humbleth 
himself  that  shall  be  exalted.  '''•  For  the  meek  shall 
inherit  the  earth.'' 

How  then,  I  ask  again,  has  Christ  attained  to  his 
sovereignty,  seeing  that  he  has  gained  it  neither  by 
inheritance  nor  by  conquest.  0 !  it  was  in  a  way 
the  most  unlike  what  worldly  men  would  dream  of,  a 
way  which  no  man  can  understand,  excepting  him  to 
whom  it  has  been  taught  by  the  Spirit  of  God. 
"  Whosoever  will  be  great  among  you,  let  him  be  your 
minister.  And  whosoever  will  be  chief  among  you, 
let  him  be  your  servant.  Even  as  the  Son  of  Man 
came  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  and 
to  give  his  life  a  ransom  for  many."    What  a  strange, 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  189 

unheard-of  way  is  this  to  a  throne  and  a  crown! 
Other  men  who  would  hold  a  sceptre  would  come  in 
power,  he  came  in  weakness;  others  would  substan- 
tiate their  claim  to  authority,  he  laid  his  aside. 

But  has  not  Christ  himself  founded  his  kingdom  in 
this  very  way  ?  And  does  not  every  soul  who  belongs 
to  him  know  in  his  experience,  that  by  nothing  has 
Christ  taken  so  strong  a  hold  upon  his  heart  as  by 
his  ministering  love  ?  How  has  he  put  our  flesh  and 
blood  more  deeply  to  shame  than  by  his  ministering 
love?  And  how  are  the  strong  ones  fallen  a  prey 
into  his  hands  ?     How  but  by  his  ministering  love  ? 

Here  is  One,  whose  power  unknown 

Conquers  not  with  sword  or  bow ; 
Million  strong  ones  overthrown, 

Lie  in  dust  before  Him  low. 
The  banner  which  aloft  he  bears, 
The  sign  of  bloodless  victory  wears. 

A  gentle  Lamb  such  triumphs  gains, —    * 

A  Lamb  with  sorrow  riven; 
His  weapons  are  his  woes  and  pains. 

To  these  is  conquest  given; 
His  foes  the  might  of  mercy  prove, 
And  melt  beneath  the  warmth  of  love. 

Now  as  the  king  of  this  kingdom  is,  so  should  also 
his  servants  be.  In  the  way  by  which  he  won  his 
rights  as  king,  must  we  gain  our  rights  as  his  subjects. 
With  carnal  weapons  no  man  can  conquer  for  himself 
a  right  to  the  privileges  of  that  kingdom;  nor  can 
any  acquire  them  by  inheritance.  No :  that  kingdom 
comes  not  by  inheritance.  "  Not  of  blood,  nor  of  the 
will  of  the  flesh,  nor  of  the  will  of  man."  Ye  pious 
17 


190  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

pafents,  well  do  you  know  this,  for  you  would  rather 
leave  as  a  legacy  to  your  children  that  faith  which 
maketh  blessed,  than  any  earthly  possession.  Would 
you  not,  were  it  only  possible,  rather  leave  all  that 
you  have  to  others,  if  you  could  but  bequeath  to  your 
children  the  inestimable  boon  of  a  saving  faith.  But  it 
is  impossible ;  this  blessing  must  be  personally  gained, 
every  one  must  acquire  it  for  himself.  Every  child 
of  Adam  has  to  fight  the  battle  for  himself  anew.  It 
is  only  such  tangible  things  as  can  be  made  over  by 
one  man  to  another,  that  can  be  obtained  by  inherit- 
ance. That  which  constitutes  the  most  true  and  real 
possession  of  a  man,  which  is  peculiarly  his  own,  like 
the  boon  of  a  living  faith,  must  be  won  by  every  one 
for  himself  by  stern,  internal  conflict.  It  is  true  in 
temporal  things,  that  wealthy  parents  have  wealthy 
children :  but  in  spiritual  things,  it  is,  alas !  too  often 
the  reverse.  A  parent  may  be  rich  in  grace  whose 
children  are  poor  and  portionless ;  or  there  may  be 
children  rich  towards  God,  with  parents  having 
nothing,  standing  in  need  of  all  things !  Ye  must  not 
grieve,  ye  parents,  at  the  thought  that  you  cannot 
transfer  to  your  children  that  best  of  all  possessions, 
for,  only  consider,  is  not  the  fact  that  you  can  bequeath 
your  other  possessions,  a  proof  that  those  things  which 
can  pass  from  one  to  another  are  not  in  themselves  a 
true  and  abiding  portion?  All  those  blessings  which 
you  can  leave  to  your  heirs  are  perishable  blessings ; 
but  that  blessing  which  every  one  of  your  children 
must  "take  by  force,"  is  an  imperishable  one. 

Then  again,  no  man  can  with  carnal  weapons  con- 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OP    CHRIST.  191 

quer  for  himself  the  kingdom  of  God.  It  is  true,  in 
all  other  things,  that  in  proportion  as  a  man  has 
wealth  and  power,  strength  of  body,  and  force  of  cha- 
racter, does  the  world  and  all  it  contains,  lie  at  his 
feet.  Everything  is  in  his  power,  everything  may 
become  his — saving  one,  and  that  is  the  kingdom  of 
God.  In  that  kingdom,  very  different  laws  come  into 
operation.  The  poor  have  the  gospel  preached  to 
them,  that  they  may  be  satisfied,  while  the  rich  must 
suffer  want.  He  putteth  down  the  mighty  from  their 
seats,  and  exalteth  them  of  low  degree.  Men  are 
overthrown — and  little  children  receive  the  kingdom. 
How  many  of  the  first  shall  be  last,  and  of  the  last, 
first  ?  And  will  Christ  administer  his  government  in 
the  time  to  come  in  another  way,  according  to  other 
laws,  than  he  does  now  ?  Here  he  was  not  sur- 
rounded by  the  powerful  and  the  wise,  according  to 
the  flesh,  but  by  what  men  would  call  the  foolish  and 
weak  of  this  world.  He  will  keep  the  word  which  he 
hath  spoken :  he  will  confess  none  before  his  heavenly 
Father,  but  those  who  have  confessed  him,  with  word 
and  heart,  before  men.  Here  we  may  go  even  further. 
So  far  from  its  being  the  case,  that  reputation  and 
riches,  beauty  and  talents,  by  which  everything  else 
may  be  acquired,  make  the  entrance  to  the  kingdom  of 
God  more  easy,  these  things  rather  make  it  more  diffi- 
cult. "  How  hardly  shall  they  that  have  riches  enter 
into  the  kingdom  of  God!"  Such  is  the  sad  exclama- 
tion of  our  Saviour :  and  in  these  words  it  is  not  those 
that  are  rich  in  worldly  riches  alone,  that  he  means, 
but  all  the  rich,  whether  their  wealth  consist  in  gold 


192  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

and  silver,  or  in  honours,  or  in  talents.  For  the 
richer  a  man  is,  the  more  is  he  disposed  to  be  self- 
satisfied,  and  the  more  difficult  is  it  for  him  to  practice 
self-denial.  "  Strait  is  the  gate,  and  narrow  is  the 
way,  that  leadeth  unto  life,"  says  our  Lord.  And  it 
is  just  because  the  gate  is  so  strait  and  the  way  so 
narrow,  that  all  the  riches  a  man  brings  with  him 
must  be  left  outside.  Whoever  would  be  great  and 
mighty  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  will  find  that  there 
power  and  greatness  are  measured  in  a  very  different 
standard.  The  kingdom  of  God  can  be  conquered  by 
us  only  in  that  most  spiritual  of  all  ways  in  which 
the  Saviour  took  possession  of  it.  Every  kingdom  is 
as  one  body;  and  in  every  member  of  the  same  body 
the  same  spirit  must  breathe.  The  head  is  the  centre 
of  its  life ;  but  the  life  of  the  head  goes  through  all  the 
members.  Now,  whoever  has  been  taught  by  the 
great  Archetype  of  ministering  love,  by  Him  who  is 
our  Head,  the  great  lesson,  that  we  are,  all  of  us,  here 
in  the  world  not  to  let  ourselves  be  ministered  unto, 
but  to  minister,  becomes  a  member  of  that  kingdom. 
Let  them  carry  on  the  vain  emulation — those  men 
who  know  nothing  of  this  kingdom,  and  who  seek  only 
to  excel  in  rank,  property,  and  talents — let  them 
carry  on  their  vain  emulation !  but  to  us,  0  beloved 
in  Christ!  is  another  rivalry  appointed — the  rivalry 
of  excelling  in  deeds  of  ministering  love !  If,  then, 
this  is  the  way  by  which  alone  the  kingdom  of  the 
Lord  can  be  gained,  0 !  how  many  of  the  first  shall  be 
last,  0 !  how  many  of  the  last  shall  be  first ! 

Thus  it  was  that  our  Lord  won  the  kingdom,  and 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  193 

thus  have  his  disciples  also  achieved  its  conquest.     In 
this  sense  we  read,  ^'My  kingdom  is  not  from  hence." 
Now  a  kingdom,  which  is  so  unlike  all  worldly  king- 
doms in  its  origin,  must  also  be  very  unlike  them  in 
its  nature,     A  sovereignty  which  takes  its  rise  in  a 
way  so  gentle  and  so  spiritual,  will  also  be  exercised 
in  a   spiritual  and  unseen  way.     His  kingdom  is   a 
sway  over  spirits,  which  are  related   to  him  by  the 
bond  of  love.     Among  the  members  of  this  kingdom 
the  workings  of  love — of  love  towards  Him  and  among 
one  another — are  indeed  manifest;  for  love  is  a  power, 
and  every  power  must  manifest  itself  in  action.     Such 
a  kingdom  presents  an  appearance  very  different  from 
that  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world.     We  see  this  in 
every  Christian  congregation  that  is  penetrated  by 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord,  and  we  should  see  it  through- 
out the  whole  Christian  Church,  were  it  not  so  imbued 
with  the  spirit  of  the  world.     In  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  it  is  law  that  rules ;  in  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
it  is  only  the  impulse  and  power  of  love.     The  king- 
doms of  the  world  mind  the  things  of  the  world,  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  minds  the  things  of  God.     In  the 
kingdoms  of  the  world,  there  is    ever  between  the 
ruling  power  and  the  subjects  he  governs  a  great  gulf 
fixed.     But  how  strangely  different  is  it,  in  this  re- 
spect, in  the  kingdom  of  God!     There  the  king  rules 
only  that  he  may  make  kings  of  all  his  subjects.     For 
Christ  will  retain  nothing  for  himself  of  all  the  bless- 
edness and   might,  of  all   the  holiness  and  wisdom 
that  the  Father  has  given  him,  but  he  will  share  it  all 
with  his  subjects.     "To  him  that  overcometh,"  thus 
17* 


194  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

he  speaks,  "will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  on  my  throne, 
even  as  I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my 
Father  on  his  throne."  May  we  not  say  in  a  certain 
sense,  that  the  incarnation  of  the  Son  of  God  is  con- 
stantly carried  forward  in  the  Church,  which  is  his 
body,  until  all  come,  as  the  apostle  Paul  says,  "to 
the  fulness  of  the  stature  of  perfect  men  in  Christ?" 
Is  not  his  body  "  the  fulness  of  Him  that  filleth  all 
in  all?" 

Let  us  now  see  what,  in  these  words,  he  affirms. 
He  does  not  contradict  the  assertion  that  he  has  a 
kingdom ;  nay,  he  speaks  of  his  kingdom  and  of  his 
servants.  If  we  are  to  affirm  anything  with  regard 
to  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  we  must  not  content  our- 
selves with  merely  saying,  that  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
is  not  of  this  world;  we  must  add  that,  although  his 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  yet  it  is  nevertheless  in 
this  world,  and  will  advance  more  and  more  in  this 
werld.  Yes,  God  be  praised !  we  can  say  with  joy, 
that  although  the  Lord's  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world, 
still  it  is  in  this  world,  and,  so  long  as  the  world  exists, 
it  will  never  pass  away  from  it.  Even  before  the 
highest  sacrifice  of  ministering  love  had  been  offered, 
he  had  won  for  himself,  by  means  of  that  ministering 
love,  a  kingdom  whose  subjects  were  all  united  in  the 
common  testimony,  "  To  wliom  can  we  go  hut  unto 
thee!'*  Happy  is  that  king  whose  happy  subjects 
exclaim,  "To  whom  can  we  go  but  unto  thee,"  and 
who  know  of  no  other  rule  under  which  their  lot  could 
be  so  blessed !  At  first  the  members  of  that  kingdom 
were  not  numerous;  after  the  Ascension,  there  were  a 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  195 

hundred  and  twenty  gathered  in;  add  to  these  the 
five  hundred  believers  in  Galilee,  and  even  then  the 
number  does  not  make  up  a  thousand.  But  the  day 
of  Pentecost  was  a  harvest-day.  On  that  one  day 
three  thousand  were  added  to  the  Church.  All  of 
these,  indeed,  cannot  have  been  true  and  real  mem- 
bers of  the  kingdom;  for,  indeed,  even  among  the 
twelve  there  was  a  Judas,  and  among  the  brethren  in 
Jerusalem,  an  Ananias. 

The  kingdom  of  heaven  was,  as  the  Saviour  had 
said,  as  a  net  that  was  cast  into  the  sea,  in  which  there 
were  caught  all  manner  of  fish,  good  and  bad  together. 
That  net  is  the  Church.  Not  until  that  net  is  full 
will  it  be  drawn  to  the  shore,  and  then  the  selection 
between  the  good  and  bad  fish  will  be  made.  Thus  is 
it  also  with  the  kingdom  of  God  in  the  Church.  It 
may  well  happen,  that  at  one  time  there  are  many 
more  bad  fish  in  the  net  than  good  ones ;  but  it  can 
never  be  that  at  any  time  there  is  not  so  much  as  a 
single  good  fish  there.  For  the  Church  of  Christ  is 
the  body  of  Christ;  but  a  body,  all  the  members  of 
which  are  bad,  is  fallen  a  prey  to  corruption  and  death, 
and  could  no  more  be  made  alive.  If  you  cast  your 
eyes  on  the  page  of  history,  you  will  see  how,  at  the 
very  time  when  matters  have  looked  worst  in  the 
Church  of  Christ,  and  it  almost  seemed  as  if  all  its 
members  were  dead,  times  of  reviving  have  returned, 
when,  from  the  members  which  were  still  healthy,  a 
new  life  has  broken  out  which  has  made  the  sick  ones 
whole  again,  and  even  those  which  were  dead  again  to 
live.     And  thus  times  may  come,  in  which  the  king- 


196  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

(lorn  of  God  in  the  church  of  a  city,  a  country,  or  per- 
haps even  throughout  the  universal  Church,  is  a  king- 
dom invisible  to  the  eyes  of  men ;  but  all  the  more  in 
such  times  will  the  members  there  which  still  live, 
manifest  the  life  they  have,  should  their  only  symptom 
of  vitality  be  their  antagonism  against  those  members 
which  are  dead.  Yes,  the  kingdom  of  God  is  in  the 
world.  It  is  a  community  of  men  who  have  received 
the  forgiveness  of  their  sins,  and  in  whom  in  all  their 
weakness  the  love  of  God  is  still  the  ruling  principle 
of  their  life,  heart,  and  mind.  Such  a  kingdom  of 
God  exists,  were  you  only  aware  of  it,  exists  in  our 
Fatherland,  in  this  city.  You  must,  as  many  of  you 
as  are  living  members,  be  aware  of  this,  and  you  must 
also  be  ready  to  engage  in  conflict  against  those  mem- 
bers of  the  body  which  are  diseased  and  dead. 

Then  again,  one  cannot  own  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  in  this  world,  without  at  the  same  time  acknow- 
ledging that  his  kingdom  is  advancing  in  the  world. 
Our  Lord  came  into  the  world  with  the  full  conscious- 
ness— to  which  moreover  he  has  given  repeated  expres- 
sion— that  he  planted  his  kingdom  here  only  as  a 
grain  of  corn.  We  have  a  pledge  and  assurance  of 
the  fact,  that  this  kingdom  of  God  is  no  mere  idea  of 
man,  but  an  eternal  thought  of  God.  Witness  the 
sure  prophetic  glance  with  which  he  looked  away  from 
the  small  beginning  to  the  wide  course  of  history,  and 
the  future  perfecting  of  his  kingdom.  He  taught  his 
disciples  to  pray,  "Thy  kingdom  come!''  He  gave 
them  to  understand  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  as  a 
grain  of  mustard-seed  or  as  a  little  leaven.     "Verily 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  197 

I  say  unto  you,  there  be  some  standing  here,  which 
shall  not  taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the  kingdom  of 
God  come  with  power. ' '  The  kingdom  of  God  increased 
and  extended  itself,  spread  out  its  branches  all  around, 
and  evermore  shelterless  birds  have  found  refuge  amid 
its  branches.  The  kingdom  of  God  has  grown  and 
taken  deeper  root ;  the  leaven  has  more  and  more  per- 
meated the  measure  of  meal,  and  has  leavened  it  all. 
Christ  has  arisen  upon  humanity  like  a  sun,  of  which 
men  have  been  able  to  make  only  this  or  that  sepa- 
rate ray  their  own.  But  Christendom  was  ever  becom- 
ing more  and  more  capable  of  receiving  all  his  rays. 
At  first  all  Christians  were  missionaries — all  strove 
and  laboured  in  order  that  the  leaven  should  leaven 
the  whole  lump.  It  was  only  by  degrees  that,  setting 
out  from  the  heart,  it  became  diffused  over  every 
province  of  life.  By  and  by  some  of  the  leavening 
influence  had  extended  itself  into  the  domain  of 
science.  In  how  many  fair  blossoms  on  the  tree  of 
Science  can  we  trace  the  development  of  the  principle 
of  the  Christian  life  !  And  since  that  period,  how  has 
knowledge  extended  its  investigations  to  the  internal, 
to  the  moral  world  of  mind !  There  are  to  be  found, 
in  the  simple  sayings  of  the  New  Testament,  thoughts, 
such  as,  when  they  have  once  been  heard,  men  can 
never  forget.  And  even  many  of  those  men  in  our 
time,  who  would  aim  a  parricidal  blow  at  the  Church, 
and  would  seek  to  rid  themselves  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  altogether,  think  and  act  under  the  power  of 
these  very  utterances.  Then  again,  some  of  the 
leaven   has   penetrated  into  the  department  of  art. 


198  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

When  did  the  inner  world  of  man  ever  find  such  an 
external  expression  in  art,  as  it  has  since  the  time 
when  the  sacred  history  of  the  Gospel  became  the 
inexhaustible  subject  for  the  song  of  the  poet,  for 
the  pencil  of  the  artist?  How  much  has  humanity 
gained — what  advantages  also  have  been  reaped  by 
art  from  the  fact,  that  the  figure  of  Christ  the  cruci- 
fied has  been  placed  before  it;  in  that  pattern  of 
majesty  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  the  opposing  linea- 
ments of  which  combine  to  form  so  grand  a  whole ! 
Again,  somewhat  of  the  leaven  has  found  its  way  into 
the  State.  Since  our  States  have  attained  the  con- 
sciousness that  the  work  which  God  has  given  them 
to  do,  is  not  merely  to  watch  over  the  external  weal 
and  woe  of  men,  but  far  more  than  this,  to  care  for 
their  education  in  Christian  morality ;  since  they  have 
become  solicitous  for  the  education  and  cultivation  of 
their  children,  for  the  restoration  of  the  fallen,  for  the 
succour  of  the  poor,  the  blind,  the  deaf  and  dumb ;  in 
so  far  as  in  the  choice  of  their  ofiicers,  they  do  not 
inquire  merely  into  the  ability,  but  also  into  the 
morality  of  the  man  :  in  these  and  many  other  things, 
we  must  joyfully  own  that  the  leaven  of  Christianity 
has,  to  some  extent,  penetrated  into  the  State  also. 
Thus  far,  then,  is  the  kingdom  of  God  already  come, 
and  thus  will  it  ever  advance  more  and  more.  The 
truth  hath  many  degenerate  children  who  seek  to  make 
her  their  slave ;  but,  on  the  other  hand,  she  will  to  all 
time  have  obedient  children,  who  hearken  to  her 
voice,  and  allow  themselves  to  be  trained  by  her. 
The  heart  of  man  is  made  for  Christ,  and  can  find  no 


SUPFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  199 

rest  anywhere,  but  only  in  him ;  and  therefore  it  is 
absolutely  impossible  that  Jesus  our  King  should  at 
any  time  have  no  subjects  upon  earth.  He  has  had 
them,  he  has  them  in  the  world  now,  he  will  have 
them  to  eternity. 

0  Christians,  there  is  no  blessing  more  worthy  of 
our  labours  and  strong  endeavour  than  the  kingdom 
of  God.  "  Seek  jq  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his 
righteousness,  and  all  other  things  shall  be  added 
unto  you."  0  why  do  you  give  yourselves  so  much 
care  and  trouble,  ye  Martha-souls,  and  seek  not  after 
that  which  Christ  calls  the  first  object  of  human 
striving !  JSTo  man  can  serve  two  masters.  You  must 
absolutely  come  to  a  decision,  as  to  which  of  all  bless- 
ings is  the  highest!  Do  you  know  and  believe 
assuredly,  all  of  you  who  are  assembled  here,  that 
you  are  really  subjects  of  Christ  and  members  of  his 
kingdom  ?  0  then,  tell  me,  do  you,  as  often  as  we 
make  together  the  confession  of  our  faith,  "  I  believe 
in  one  holy  catholic  Church,  and  in  one  communion 
of  saints,"  do  you  experience  then  the  comfort  that 
lies  in  being  able  silently  to  add,  in  the  fulness  of 
thankful  faith,  "  of  which  Church  I  too  am,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  a  member— of  which  saints  and  holy 
men  I  too  am  one?"  May  that  spiritual  sun,  from 
which  light  and  life  stream  into  the  heart  of  man, 
come  forth,  in  order  that  his  beams  may  fall  upon 
you !  He  is  there,  that  king  who  did  not  come  into 
the  world  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister;  he 
is  there,  and  will  win  your  hearts,  that  you  may  learn 
from  him  how  man  may  obtain  that  greatness  before 


200  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

which  all  other  glory,  all  the  glory  of  reputation,  of 
gifts,  and  talents,  becomes  dim — the  greatness  which 
lies  in  ministering  love.  He  who  would  be  great  in 
the  kingdom  of  God,  let  him  be  the  servant  of  all ! 

Here  is  One  whose  power  unknown 

Conquers  not  with  sword  or  bow, 
Million  strong  ones  overthrown 

Lie  in  dust  before  him  low: 
The  banner  which  aloft  he  bears 
The  sign  of  bloodless  victory  wears. 

A  gentle  Lamb,  these  triumphs  gain, 

A  Lamb  with  sorrow  riven; 
His  weapons  are  his  woes  and  pains, 

To  these  is  conquest  given ; 
His  foes  the  might  of  mercy  prove, 
And  melt  beneath  the  warmth  of  love. 

Let  us  overcome  with  Jesus,  in  order  that  with  him 
we  may  receive  the  crown  of  everlasting  glory.    Amen. 


SERMON  YI. 

THE   CONFESSION   OF   JESUS:    "l    AM    A   KING." 

John  xviii.  37. — Pilate  therefore  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  a  king 
then?  Jesus  answered,  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king.  To  this 
end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  world,  that  I 
should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth.  Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth 
heareth  my  voice. 

We  have  sought  to  edify  each  other  by  the  contem- 
plation of  a  number  of  passages  taken  from  that  por- 
tion of  our  Lord's  history  in  which,  through  the  night 
of  his  sufferings,  the  light  of  his  glory  in  the  most 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  201 

wondrous  way  is  seen  to  break.  The  devout  of  the 
Church  of  Rome  celebrate  the  road  to  the  cross  in  a 
way  which  brings  it  more  sensibly  before  their  eyes. 
They  divide  it  into  twelve  stages,  to  each  of  which 
they  assign  a  particular  niche,  and  at  every  separate 
place,  as  for  instance  when  our  beloved  Saviour  was 
in  an  agony  in  the  garden,  where  he  was  scourged, 
where  he  was  mocked,  and  so  on  through  other  afflic- 
tions he  endured,  they  fall  down  upon  their  knees 
and  worship  him.  We,  too,  have  commenced  a  simi- 
lar progress  through  the  different  stages  of  his  suffer- 
ings: we  have  followed  him  from  Gethsemane,  and 
have  listened  to  the  words  which  fell  from  his  gra- 
cious lips.  And  now  we  stand  at  the  entry  of  Pilate's 
porch,  where,  possibly,  John  may  have  stood,  and 
heard  his  Saviour  speak.  Here  we  hear  the  word 
which  was  afterwards  to  draw  from  Paul  an  admiring 
approval,  when,  in  his  Epistle  to  Timothy,  he  speaks 
of  the  good  confession  which  Jesus  Christ  witnessed 
before  Pontius  Pilate.  (1  Timothy  vi.  13.)  Endea- 
vour to  understand  this  day  that  noble  testimony  of 
our  Lord.  After  the  words,  ''My  kingdom  is  not  of 
this  world,"  we  read,  John  xviii.  37:  ''Pilate  there- 
fore said  unto  him,  Art  thou  a  king  then?  Jesus 
answered,  Thou  sayest  I  am  a  king.  To  this  end 
was  1  horn,  and  for  this  cause  came  I  into  the  ivorldy 
that  I  should  hear  witness  unto  the  truth.  Every 
one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  my  voice.'' 

Certainly  it  is  a  noble  testimony !    In  order  rightly 
to   penetrate   its    significance,  let  us  view,   fitst,   the 
18  4 


202  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

majesty  of  this  King,  then  the  justice  of  his  claim, 
and,  lastly,  his  subjects. 

First,  then,  his  majesty.  Jesus  has  uttered  many 
sayings  of  himself,  with  regard  to  which  one  requires 
a  strong  faith  not  to  permit  one's  self  to  he  led  into 
error  concerning  him.  But  Jiere  that  is  not  the  case. 
At  all  events,  when  a  man,  who  was  subjected  to  such 
ignominy  and  shame,  called  himself  the  King  of 
truth,  even  Pilate  himself  might  feel  that  what  he 
said  was  true.  There  was  nothing  in  the  circum- 
stances in  which  he  was  placed,  to  negative  or  give 
the  lie  to  such  an  assertion.  A  King  in  the  kingdom 
of  truth  and  the  cross :  are  these  contradictory  ideas  ? 
Certainly  not.  Think  you  that  truth,  when  she  makes 
her  appearance  in  the  world,  is  welcomed  only  with 
garlands  of  flowers?  Or,  is  it  not  rather  true  that 
those  righteous  men,  who  confessed  themselves  the 
servants  of  truth  and  who  fearlessly  testified  for  her 
in  their  life,  have  much  more  frequently  received  the 
crown  of  thorns  to  wear  than  a  garland  of  flowers  ? 
There  even  occurs  a  passage  in  the  writings  of  that 
prince  among  the  wise  men  of  old,  Plato,  which  one 
may  regard  as  an  involuntary  prophecy  concerning 
our  King  of  righteousness  and  truth.  He  says:  "I 
am  of  opinion,  that  the  truly  righteous  man,  if  he 
were  to  appear  in  the  world,  would  be  scourged, 
would  be  thrown  into  fetters,  would  be  hanged." 
Thus  speaks,  prophet-like,  that  voice  of  antiquity. 
And  thus  may  Pilate,  if  he  had  cared  to  look  at  all 
around  him  upon  the  world,  to  see  how  it  is  wont  to 
deal  with  truth  when  she  makes  her  appearance  there, 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  203 

have  found  no  difficulty  in  putting  faith  in  this 
saying,  from  the  fact,  that  the  man  who  uttered  it 
•was  about  to  die  an  ignominious  death.  Besides,  the 
Saviour  doubtless  expressed  himself  as  he  did  with  the 
intention  that  a  Roman  or  a  Greek  ear  should  be 
capable  of  at  once  understanding  him.  For  the 
devout  Jew  sought  after  the  forgiveness  of  sins,  and 
the  Greek  after  wisdom  and  truth;  and,  before  the 
Jews,  Jesus  called  himself  the  King  of  the  kingdom 
of  God;  before  the  Roman,  on  the  contrary,  he  is  the 
King  of  truth.  The  name  is  a  high  and  noble  one; 
let  us  now  ponder  what  of  majesty  lies  in  it. 

Let  us  begin  with  the  idea  which  most  naturally 
presents  itself.  A  king  is,  at  all  times,  the  first  citi- 
zen of  his  kingdom,  and  herein  the  Saviour  declares 
that  he  is  a  citizen  in  the  kingdom  of  truth,  that,  in 
other  words,  truth  is  his  home,  the  region  where, 
and  where  only,  he  feels  himself  at  home.  There  is 
already  in  this  admission  a  great  step  gained.  Ye 
students!  you  are  proud,  and  glory  in  the  thought 
that  in  your  present  calling  you  have  to  do  with 
nothing  sensible,  but  with  that  which  is  not  seen  with 
the  physical  eye,  or  touched  by  the  material  hand. 
0,  would  that  all  who  call  themselves  students,  were 
men  whose  home  is  in  the  kingdom  of  truth,  who  feel 
themselves  happy  and  at  home  only  there ;  would  that 
all  students  were  only  men  who  evidently  strove  after 
no  blessings  and  enjoyments  so  earnestly  as  those 
which  cannot  be  handled  with  the  hand  or  seen  with 
the  eye !  Were  this  the  case,  what  a  boon  would  a 
University  be  for  the  citizens  of  a  town.     At  present, 


204  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

the  citizens  accuse  the  universities  of  contributing  to 
the  demoralization  of  their  towns.  Then  one  might 
be  able  to  point  to  the  students  and  say,  There  you 
see  that  a  man  may  find  his  life  in  enjoyments  such 
as  the  hand  cannot  handle,  nor  the  eye  see !  There 
you  see  that  man  liveth  not  by  bread  alone  ! 

But  the  Lord  does  not  call  himself  a  citizen  of  this 
kingdom  merely,  he  bears  the  name  of  its  King.  If  it 
is  the  flower  and  nobility  of  the  human  race  who  find 
their  home  in  the  kingdom  of  truth,  Christ  is  the  king 
of  these  noblest  children  of  humanity.  Those  may  be 
counted  by  millions  who  seldom  aspire  to  anything 
else  than  that  which  hands  may  handle  and  the  eye 
may  see.  But  hundreds,  ay,  and  hundreds  of  thou- 
sands, there  have  ever  been,  who,  impelled  by  an  irre- 
sistible impulse  which  swayed  the  whole  of  their  life, 
have  striven,  perhaps  in  great  obscurity,  towards  the 
attainment  of  that  most  precious  possession,  truth,  so 
incomprehensible,  so  unappreciable,  to  sense  and  sight. 
Yes,  through  the  whole  history  of  the  human  race 
there  runs  a  chain  of  which  such  men  as  these  form 
the  golden  links.  Behold  Christ  in  his  majesty  point- 
ing to  himself  as  the  highest  link  in  that  chain.  And 
if  Christ  is  the  head,  then  they  are  only  members, 
and  cannot  therefore  exist  by  themselves  indepen- 
dently of  him.  They  are  made  one  only  in  him.  He 
gives  it  to  be  understood  that  all  the  truth  which  had 
been  in  the  world  from  the  beginning  meets  and  cen- 
tres in  him ;  that  he  is  the  sun,  of  which  all  the  rest 
are  only  rays.  He  came,  according  to  his  own  words,- 
to  fulfil  the  law  and  the  prophets ;  that  is,  he  came  to 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  205 

make  full :  thus  also  does  lie  supply  to  all  human  long- 
ing and  endeavour  after  truth,  its  accomplishment  and 
fulfilment.  But  he,  who  possesses  truth  in  such  per- 
fection, possesses  it  not  for  himself  alone.  We  who 
have  the  light  only  mingled  with  darkness,  we  who 
walk  in  the  twilight  and  wait  for  the  perfect  day,  are 
come  into  the  world,  in  the  first  instance,  only  to  gain 
truth  for  ourselves,  in  order  that  we  may  let  it  shine 
into  our  hearts  and  light  up  every  crevice  of  our  be- 
ing. But  he  is  come  into  the  world  that  he  might 
bear  witness  of  the  truth. 

You  acknowledge  the  majesty  of  this  testimony  of 
our  Lord.     Do  you  now  require  that  we  should  con- 
vince you  of  its  justice  ?    He  has  called  himself  King 
in  the  land  of  truth,  might  he  not  have   contented 
himself  with  the  title  of  Prince?     For,  is  it  indeed  he 
who  gives  laws  in  every  part  of  the  wide  domains  of 
this  kingdom  ?     He  speaks  as  if  he  owned  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  whole  land,  and  yet  is  it  not,  in  point  of 
fact,  merely  the  little  province  of  religion  and  mor- 
ality that  forms  his   kingdom?     Or,    has  he  indeed 
attained   a  position   of  supremacy  in  the  regions  of 
human  wisdom?     Was  Christ  initiated  into  the  arcana 
of  our  modern  science,  our  art,  our  commerce  ?     And 
yet  he  speaks  as  if  it  was  his  right  to  administer  laws 
within    all   these   wide-stretching   boundaries.      And 
yet,  he  was  not  merely  one  of  its  many  princes ;    no, 
Jesus  was  King  in  the  land  of  truth.     True  it  is,  it 
is  only  in  divine  things  that  he  brought  truth  into  the 
world ;    he  has  taught  us  nothing  but  that  knowledge 
which   he  learned   in   the   Father's   bosom — he   has 
18* 


206  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

taught  men  merely  what  God  is,  and  what  they  are, 
and  how,  through  himself,  sinners  may  be  brought  to 
God.  In  so  far  as  all  earthly  knowledge  is  con- 
cerned, he  has  left  us  mortals  to  our  own  striving  and 
our  own  working.  With  how  narrow  a  circle  of 
truths  did  his  apostles  at  first  set  out !  But,  I  ask 
you,  did  not  this  small  body  of  truths  become,  as  the 
Lord  had  said,  a  leaven  which,  once  admitted  in  ever 
so  small  a  degree  into  the  heart  of  man,  was  capable 
of  regenerating  humanity,  and  of  transforming  the 
whole  face  of  sciences,  of  arts,  and  of  civil  institu- 
tions? I  shall  only  adduce  one  circumstance,  in 
order  that  you  may  recognize  what  the  value  of  a 
strong  faith  is  in  the  investigation  of  truth  in  all 
departments.  All  labour  and  endeavour  in  the  search 
of  truth  can  prosper  only  in  the  soil  of  moral  earnest- 
ness, strong  self-denial,  and  pure  love. 

The  storm  that  tears  and  rends  the  ocean  plain, 
Scatters  the  brightness  that  was  mirror'd  there. 

Now,  if  it  is  true  that  faith,  which  Christ  has 
brought  down  to  us,  imparts,  in  a  wondrous  degree, 
peace  of  heart,  sincerity  of  self-denial,  and  purity  of 
love,  shall  we  not  be  justified  in  saying,  that  Christ 
rules  as  a  King  throughout  the  whole  kingdom  of 
truth?  See  ye  not,  ye  inquirers  after  truth,  to 
whatever  class  ye  belong,  see  ye  not  that  ye  must 
first  draw  near  to  the  service  of  God,  if  ye  would 
tread  the  courts  of  the  temple  of  science  in  a  spirit 
becoming  her  ministers  ?  Brothers,  he  who  gives  us  a 
heart  that  has  found  rest  in  God,  a  heart  pure,  and 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  207 

free  from  the  things  of  earth,  places  us  upon  an  eleva- 
tion where  we  are  capable,  for  the  first  time,  of 
breathing  the  pure  air  of  truth.  How  many  exalted 
views  and  searching  reflections  has  the  gospel  brought 
into  the  world,  such  as  shed  a  new  light  in  every 
region  of  knowledge  and  of  life !  Suffer  me  to  men- 
tion two  examples.  Can  it  be  denied,  that  it  has 
only  been  since  the  time  when  the  leaven  of  Chris- 
tianity began  to  come  into  operation  in  the  world,  that 
the  sanctuary  of  the  world  within,  and  the  domain  of 
human  feeling,  have  been  opened  up  to  man  in  all 
their  importance?  And  further,  is  it  not  only  since 
then,  that  the  individual  man  has  come  to  be  recog- 
nized in  all  his  dignity,  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
those  of  antiquity  were  wont  to  subordinate  the  indi- 
vidual to  his  family,  his  generation,  and  his  nation? 
It  is  possible  that  Christ  was  King  only  over  one 
province  in  the  domain  of  truth,  but  he  was  King  in 
that  province  which  governs  all  the  rest.  Only  that 
the  relation  between  this  province  and  the  different 
spheres  of  knowledge  is  not  like  that  of  countries 
which  are  contiguous  to  each  other,  but  is  rather  that 
of  circles  which  lie  within  each  other.  Just  as  God 
is  that  Being  who  encircles  everything  finite  with 
his  own  infinitude,  without  thereby  annihilating  that 
finite;  so  religious  truth  is  that  knowledge  which 
encloses  in  its  widest  range  all  the  other  circles  of 
knowledge,  in  order  to  glorify  and  perfect  them  all. 
Thus  it  stands  incontestably  certain,  Jesus  had  a 
right  to  call  himself  the  King  of  truth. 

And  you  will  be  all  the  more  convinced  of  this  if 


208  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

you  endeavour  to  realize  to  yourselves  how  much  it 
requires  to  be  so  much  as  a  true  citizen  in  the  king- 
dom of  divine  truth,  not  to  speak  of  the  qualifications 
requisite  to  him  who  arrogates  to  himself  the  title  of 
sovereignty  therein.  The  knowledge  of  earthly  things, 
of  the  sun,  the  firmament,  the  moon,  the  stars,  does 
not,  however  much  a  man  may  possess  of  it,  attain 
within  the  inner  court  of  the  soul,  but  remains  without, 
and  there  it  is  chained  to  the  understanding  merely 
by  the  power  of  memory.  But  of  heavenly  things,  a 
man  can  truly  know  only  in  so  far  as  he  is.  You 
may  learn  by  heart  a  thousand  times  out  of  your 
books  what  is  meant  by  faith,  and  patience,  and 
devotion,  love — and  yet,  no  definition  can  teach  you 
what  these  things  mean.  He  who,  when  all  earthly 
stays  have  given  way,  has  not  stood  serene  and 
unmoved,  being  strong  in  faith;  he  who,  when  his 
proud  heart  has  arisen  in  rebellion  in  the  storm  of 
passion,  has  not  learned  to  subdue  it,  and  to  say  to 
the  troubled  waters,  "Peace,  be  still;"  he  who  has 
never  felt  that  he  could  weep  to  see  others  rejoice, 
that  he  could  sufier  want  to  see  others  satisfied;  he 
who  has  never  in  fervent  prayer  to  God  forgotten  the 
world  and  himself:  such  a  man  knows  not  what  faith, 
patience,  love,  devotion,  mean.  He  who  could  do  all 
that,  is  a  man;  but  the  master  is  he  who  is  what  he 
knows.  Now,  what  sealed  to  Jesus  his  divine  pre- 
rogative as  King  of  truth  is,  that  Jesus  is  himself 
that  absolute  truth  which  he  taught.  He  is  that 
truth,  for  he  does  not  say,  "I  have  the  truth,"  but 
''I  am  the  Truth;"  and  here,  moreover,  it  is,  that 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  209 

his  power  as  conqueror  over  the  world  lies.  For, 
think  you  that  he  could  have  drawn  the  world  to 
himself  and  subdued  it,  and  brought  it  captive  to  his 
feet,  in  the  way  he  did,  if  he  had  merely  taught  the 
truth,  if  he  had  merely  held  her  up  to  the  gaze  of  the 
world,  even  though  he  had  done  so  all  his  life  up  to 
the  moment  in  which  he  cried,  "It  is  finished?"  Do 
you  not  yourselves  feel  what  a  difference  there  is 
between  the  preacher  who  has  the  truth  of  which  he 
discourses  merely  in  his  books  and  in  his  memory, 
and  him  who  is  himself  the  truth  which  he  preaches  ? 
and  yet  in  how  very  limited  a  sense  can  any  of  us 
say,  "We  are  in  very  deed  the  truth  which  we  preach 
to  you."  But  this  consideration  leads  me  to  another 
doubt  that  might  be  raised  as  to  the  justice  of  his 
claim.  For  it  may  be  said,  "Does  it  not  belong  to 
the  King  of  truth  that  he  should  have  that  power  to 
conquer  which  the  possession  of  truth  in  its  deepest 
nature,  in  its  most  absolute  being,  imparts?"  King 
of  truth!  why  hast  thou  not  long  ere  now  subdued 
the  world  ?  Why  is  the  flock  that  owns  the  guidance 
of  thy  rod  ever  only  the  "little  flock?"  And  thus, 
in  answer  to  this  objection,  we  must  turn  our  glance 
from  the  claim  of  this  King  of  truth  to  the  subjects 
that  own  his  sway. 

We  must  turn  our  glance  to  the  subjects  of  this 
King.  I  do  not  know,  my  brethren,  how  it  is  with 
you,  but  my  own  experience  is,  that  since  the  glory 
of  God  first  began  to  shine  upon  me  in  the  face  of 
Jesus  Christ,  I  have  felt  no  doubt  assail  me  with 
greater  power,   than  the  doubt  regarding  his  royal 


210  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

rights,  called  forth  bj  the  view  of  the  miserably 
small  number  of  the  subjects  who  own  his  supremacy 
and  bow  the  knee  to  him.  Yet  man  is  born  for  the 
truth,  yea  he  is  made  for  Christ  himself,  and  every 
one  that  is  in  Christ  can  say  with  the  most  sober 
assurance,  "  Man  is  truly  man  only  when  he  is  Chris- 
tian." And  now,  when  one  looks  on  the  eight  hun- 
dred millions  of  men  who  are  without  the  pale  of 
Christianity,  when  within  the  Christian  Church  one 
deducts  all  those  confessions  which  are  involved  in 
error;  and  again,  in  the  true  confession,  those  who 
do  not  believe  it;  and,  once  more,  among  those  who 
confess  well,  those  who  do  not  live  well — then,  0 
thou  King  of  truth,  where  is  thy  right  to  rule,  since 
thou  hast  been  able  to  subjugate  unto  thyself  only  so 
small  a  number?  Let  us,  however,  meanwhile  simply 
inquire,  who  is  his  subject,  and  how  may  a  man 
become  his  subject  ?  The  consideration  of  this  ques- 
tion will  dissipate  the  objection. 

Who  are  his  subjects?  Wherefore  should  we  con- 
fine our  view  to  one  single  section  of  the  Christian 
Church  ?  Are  not  all  the  divisions  of  the  Church  of 
Christ  just  so  many  compartments  and  chambers  in 
the  once  great  palace  upon  whose  portals  is  written 
the  inscription,  "  There  is  no  salvation,  there  is  no 
other  name  given  among  men  whereby  they  can  be 
saved,  but  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ?"  The  same 
light  shines  into  all  the  chambers  of  that  palace, 
although  it  may  fall  more  dimly  into  some  and  more 
brightly  into  others.  And  wherever  the  confession, 
"No  salvation  out  of  Christ!"  is  made,  it  is  every- 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  211 

where  tlie  same  sun  of  grace  that  sheds  down  his 
beams,  although  these  may  fall  more  straight  into 
some  places,  and  more  broken  into  others.  It  is  ima- 
gined that  the  different  Churches  of  Christ  have  now 
no  longer  anything  in  common?  Or,  is  there  not 
still  remaining  a  common  confession  in  which  all 
Christians  join  ?  is  there  not  still  the  apostolic  creed 
which  the  humble  peasants  in  the  village  churches 
around  Halle,  equally  with  the  worshippers  in  St. 
Peter's  at  Rome,  in  which  the  sectarian  chapels  in 
London  and  the  cathedrals  of  St.  Petersburg  unite 
and  are  as  one ;  and  to  which  you  also  every  Sunday 
say  Amen,  in  fellowship  with  the  whole  Christian 
Church  that  is  under  heaven  ?  And  are  we  not  to  call 
men  who  find  in  this  confession  of  faith  in  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost,  their  consolation  in  life 
and  their  support  in  death — are  we  not  to  call  these 
men  subjects  of  Christ?  True,  many  among  them 
have  failed  to  understand  aright  many  of  his  com- 
mandments. But  he  who  in  so  far  as  he  does  under- 
stand the  laws  of  his  king,  obeys  them,  is  surely  a  true 
subject.  Those  who  understand  and  do  not  obey,  are, 
indeed,  none  of  his  subjects;  although  here  too  we 
must  make  a  distinction  between  those  who  will  not 
obey  and  those  who  would  obey,  but  cannot  obey  as 
they  would ;  and  to  this  class  we  all  belong.  Thus, 
the  number  of  his  subjects  is  by  no  means  so  small; 
fto  emperor  or  king  in  Europe  has  more.  The  thought, 
however,  that  causes  sorrow  to  a  Christian  heart  is, 
that  the  number  is  so  small  compared  with  the  multi- 
tude of  those  who,  both  without  the  Christian  Church 


212  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

and  within  her,  disown  the  sovereignty  of  the  King 
of  truth.  But  who  is  chargeable  with  this,  at  whose 
door  does  the  guilt  lie?  Let  us  listen  to  our  text. 
There  the  Redeemer  concludes  the  words  we  have 
been  considering  with  that  statement  of  infinite  mo- 
ment, "Every  one  that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  my 
voice."  What  the  intention  of  Jesus  in  using  these 
words  is,  is  apparent;  he  would  roll  away  from  him- 
self the  guilt  of  a  man  like  Pilate.  "If  thou  see  not 
in  me  the  King  of  truth,  seek  not  to  attribute  the 
guilt  of  thy  blindness  to  me,"  he  would  say.  Jesus 
would  thus  throw  ofi"  himself  all  the  guilt  of  the  un- 
belief of  men,  and  their  disobedience  against  his  word. 
The  Lord  mentions  two  conditions  as  indispensably 
requisite  to  a  man's  recognizing  in  Christ  the  King  of 
truth.  "He  who  is  of  the  truth  heareth,  that  is, 
understandeth  my  voice."  The  voice  must  reach  the 
ear.  That  is  the  first  thing  he  presupposes.  And  if 
there  are  now  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  eight  hun- 
dred millions  of  men  whose  ear  the  voice  of  the  King 
of  truth  has  never  reached,  who  is  chargeable  with 
this  ?  Is  it  the  fault  of  Christ  ?  Is  it  not  rather  your 
fault,  ye  who  are  in  the  main  indifierent  to  the  cause 
of  missions,  that  noble  sign  of  the  vitality  of  a  Church? 
Alas,  to  such  an  extent  are  ye  indifferent  that  in  this 
city  of  thirty  thousand  Christians,  scarce  five  hundred 
can  be  found  to  show  so  much  interest  in  the  cause  as 
to  support  it  with  their  contributions,  or  to  pray 
together  on  its  behalf.  How  many  among  the  four 
hundred  theological  students  who  carry  on  their  stu- 
dies here,  how  many  might  be  found  who  have  never, 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  213 

up  to  this  hour,  laid  seriously  to  heart  what  a  duty  of 
love  Christians  owe  to  those  eight  hundred  millions  of 
men !  How  many  of  you  pray  with  fervency  and  faith 
that  the  kingdom  of  God  may  come  ?  If  these  mil- 
lions of  souls  are  to  go  through  life  without  a  Master 
of  truth,  if  they  are  to  go  down  into  the  pit  without  a 
Comforter  in  death,  0 !  it  will  not  be  to  Ms  charge 
that  you  can  lay  it.  Charge  rather  yourselves  with 
it,  you  whose  hearts  are  so  poor  in  love ! 

The  other  condition  implied  in  these  words  of  Christ 
points  out  to  us  the  way  in  which  a  man  becomes  a 
subject  of  this  kingdom.  "He  that  is  of  the  truths 
heareth  my  voice."  Thus,  in  whatever  ear  the  voice 
of  the  King  of  truth  may  sound,  that  voice  can  be 
comprehended,  can  find  its  way  to  the  heart,  only  of 
him  who  is  of  the  truth.  With  what  a  sacred  moral 
earnestness  do  these  words  appear  to  sit  in  judgment 
upon  man's  unbelief  and  want  of  faith  in  Christ.  You 
have  accustomed  yourselves  to  look  upon  faith  and 
unbelief  as  a  thing,  regarding  which  no  moral  guilt 
can  be  incurred,  respecting  which  moral  considerations 
do  not  come  into  account  at  all.  But  in  these  words 
it  is  brought  home  to  your  conscience,  you  are  accused 
of  a  want  of  a  moral  love  of  the  truth.  The  fact  that 
you  do  not  believe  in  Christ,  arises  from  this  want, 
and  it  is  charged  upon  you  as  the  incurring  of  moral 
guilt.  You  may  think  that  to  say  this,  is  to  go  some- 
what too  far.  What !  because  a  man  does  not  believe 
in  the  truth  which  appeared  in  Christ,  is  he  on  that 
account  to  be  regarded  as  having  no  love  of  truth  at 
all,  and  no  afiinity  with  her?  Yes,  it  is  so.  "To 
19 


214  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

him  that  hath,"  saith  the  Lord  in  another  place, 
"shall  be  given."  On  the  other  hand,  Plato,  that 
king  of  the  wise  of  old,  says,  "Like  draws  to  like." 

You  wonder,  you  are  confounded !  What !  you  ex- 
claim, those  men  who  were  heroes  in  the  empire  of 
universal  knowledge,  those  men,  whom,  throughout 
their  whole  life,  the  inextinguishable  thirst  for  truth 
consumed — were  they  not  of  the  truth  ?  And  yet,  we 
cannot  change  the  word  of  the  King  of  truth,  we  can 
only  echo  what  he  says ;  therefore  we  must  affirm,  that 
whoever  hows  not  the  knee  before  the  King  of  truth, 
is  not  of  the  truth.  You  have  not  accustomed  your- 
selves, however,  to  contemplate  in  its  right  aspect,  the 
thirst  for  truth  which  characterized  the  heroes  of 
science.  Was  that,  let  me  ask,  always  a  thirst  for 
truth  in  the  things  of  God  ?  It  is  preeminently  and 
principally  in  the  things  of  God  that  Christ  is  the 
king  of  truth,  but  how  very  far  are  we  from  being 
able  to  assert,  that  all  those  men  whom  we  honour  as 
investigators  of  science,  were  men  who  earnestly  ap- 
plied themselves  to  the  inquiry  after  an  answer  to  the 
question.  How  men  are  to  come  to  God,  how  a  sinner 
can  become  holy  and  be  saved  ?  Even  among  you 
students,  how  many  might  be  found  who  are  consumed 
by  a  thirst  after  truth  in  all  other  things,  but  who 
give  no  manifestation  of  being  wasted  by  thirst  for 
another  truth — for  truth  concerning  what  God  is, 
what  Christ  is,  and  in  what  way  men  may  draw  near 
unto  God.  But  how  can  those  who  never  felt  this 
thirst  be  themselves  that  truth  which  recognizes  in 
Christ  the  King  of  truth?     Further,  let  me  ask,  is  it 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  215 

merely  an  intellectual  interest  in  religious  truth  that 
is  necessary  in  order  to  come  up  to  what  Christ  here 
requires  ?  Does  he  not  say,  "  He  that  is  of  the  truth, 
that  is  born  of  the  truth."  You  must  be  born  of  the 
truth.  The  truth  must  be  your  mother.  On  her 
breast  it  is  that  you  are  to  drink  into  your  being  the 
milk  of  life  and  of  love.  As  children  bear  a  resem- 
blance to  their  mother,  so  men  must  be  able  to  disco- 
ver upon  your  features  the  lineaments  of  truth,  and 
say,  "  These  are  men  whose  mother  is  the  truth  of  God, 
and  who  draw  from  her  the  strength  of  their  new  life." 
Thus  constituted  are  the  men  who  are  of  the  truth. 
It  is  only  he  who  has  set  himself,  with  this  holy  ear- 
nestness, to  the  task  of  stamping  the  image  of  divine 
truth  upon  his  life,  who  comes  to  understand  how  hard 
a  thing  it  is  not  merely  to  have  the  truth,  but  to  he 
of  the  truth.  He  alone  it  is,  moreover,  who  longs  for 
a  Redeemer.  He  alone  it  is  who  can  know  what  that 
sound  from  another  world  means,  which  is  the  voice 
of  the  King  of  truth. 

0  King  of  truth !  our  deepest  being  thirsts  after  a 
truth  in  divine  things,  which  may  not  only  illumine 
our  spirits,  but  may  also  enkindle  our  hearts,  and  rule 
our  life.  King  of  truth!  no  other  voice,  we  joyfully 
own,  has  pierced  to  our  inmost  heart,  like  the  sound 
of  thy  voice.  We  doubt  not  of  thy  claim  to  rule. 
Thou  hast  thyself  ah^eady  proved  it  to  our  souls ;  and 
although  we  are  so  unfaithful,  yet  are  we  surely  still 
thy  subjects.  0 !  do  thou  draw  and  allure  us  unto 
thee,  until  we  lie  down  at  thy  feet,  entirely  and  for 
ever  subdued  to  heaven  and  to  thee.     Amen. 


216  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 


SERMON   VII. 

THE    COMMAND   OF    JESUS'.     "WEEP    NOT    FOR   ME,    BUT    FOR   TOUR- 
SELVES." 

Luke  xxiii.  26-31. — And  as  they  led  him  away,  they  laid  hold  upon 
one  Simon,  a  Oyrenian,  coming  out  of  the  country,  and  on  him 
they  laid  the  cross,  that  he  might  bear  it  after  Jesus.  And  there 
followed  him  a  great  company  of  peojDle,  and  of  women,  which 
also  bewailed  and  lamented  him.  But  Jesus,  turning  unto  them, 
said.  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  your- 
selves, and  for  your  children.  For,  behold,  the  days  are  coming, 
in  the  which  they  shall  say.  Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the 
wombs  that  never  bare,  and  the  paps  which  never  gave  suck. 
Then  shall  they  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains.  Fall  on  us ;  and  to 
the  hills.  Cover  us.  For  if  they  do  these  things  in  a  green  tree, 
what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry  ? 

You  have  stood  with  your  Lord  before  Pilate ;  to-day 
let  us  accompany  him  on  his  way  to  the  cross.  As 
was  the  custom  with  those  who  had  been  sentenced  to 
death  by  crucifixion,  the  tree  of  shame,  on  which  he 
should  die,  is  laid  upon  his  own  shoulders,  and  he 
bears  it  to  the  gate  of  the  city.  But,  enfeebled  by 
the  load  of  sorrow  he  had  endured,  by  the  night- 
long agony  and  soul-struggle  in  Gethsemane,  by  the 
scourging  and  loss  of  blood,  he  is  so  faint  that  he 
sinks  to  the  ground  under  the  burden.  Meanwhile,  a 
man,  who  is  returning  from  the  fields,  is  laid  hold  of 
by  the  soldiers,  and  compelled  to  take  his  place. 
Possibly  the  man  is  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.  In 
silence,  the  Saviour  marches  on  his  weary  way — his 
eye  fixed  earnestly  above,  or  turned  thoughtfully 
within;  what  is  passing  in  his  soul  who  may  tell! 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  217 

One  word,  however,  he  lets  fall  on  his  way  to  Cal- 
vary; probably  it  was  spoken  at  the  moment  when 
his  fast-failing  strength  awoke  most  strongly  the  pity 
of  the  sympathizing  women,  by  whom  he  was  accom- 
panied. We  read  in  Luke  xxiii.  26-31;  "And  as 
they  led  him  away,  they  laid  hold  upon  one  Simon, 
a  Cyrenian,  coming  out  of  the  country,  and  on  him 
they  laid  the  cross,  that  he  might  hear  it  after  Jesus, 
And  there  followed  him  a  great  company  of  people, 
and  of  women,  which  also  bewailed  and  lamented 
him.  But  Jesus,  turning  unto  them,  said,  Daugh- 
ters of  Jerusalem,  weep  not  for  me,  hut  weep  for 
yourselves,  and  for  your  children.  For,  hehold,  the 
days  are  coming,  in  the  which  they  shall  say, 
Blessed  are  the  harren,  and  the  wombs  that  never 
hare,  and  the  breasts  which  never  gave  suck.  Then 
shall  they  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains,  Fall  on  us; 
and  to  the  hills.  Cover  us.  For  if  they  do  these 
things  in  a  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the 
dry?'' 

Jesus  did  not  pass  away  unwept.  We  find  such  as 
Mary,  Salome,  Magdalene,  John,  standing  under  his 
cross;  and  we  may  well  imagine  that  those  faithful 
followers  formed  part  of  this  sad  procession,  walking 
along  in  tears  and  silent  sorrow — yet,  doubtless,  at  a 
certain  distance,  for  fear  of  the  authorities.  Here, 
however,  it  is  not  these  sympathizing  spirits  that  come 
before  us ;  they  were  from  Galilee,  whereas  the  parties 
addressed  here  were  daughters  of  Jerusalem.  Among 
them,  possibly,  there  may  have  been  seen  the  widow 
who  cast  the  mites  into  the  treasury  at  the  temple ; 
19* 


118  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

Martha  and  Mary  also,  doubtless,  and  many  more 
who  had  belonged  to  him.  What  lesson  is  taught  us 
by  the  command  to  weep  for  ourselves  at  the  sight  of 
the  suffering  Saviour?  Let  us  consider  what  was 
implied  in  those  words,  as  addressed  to  the  daughters 
of  Jerusalem,  what  is  implied  in  them  now,  what  they 
will  imply  to  all  time. 

"Weep  not  for  me,"  exclaimed  the  Lord.     It  is  not 
that  he  would  entirely  forbid  the  shedding  of  all  tears 
of  sympathy  with  him  in  his  sorrow ;  he  rather  means 
to  enjoin  that  no  tears  shall  flow  for  him  but  such  as 
flow  along  with  tears  for  the  guilt  of  men.     He  does 
not  absolutely  forbid  their  weeping  for  him ;  he  speaks 
rather  by  comparison,  as  in  a  similar  instance,  where 
it  is  said,  "I  will  have  mercy  and  not  sacrifice:"  that 
is,  I  will   much  rather  have   mercy  than    sacrifice. 
"You  weep  for  me,"  he  would  say,  "it  is  well;  but  I 
would  much  rather  have  you  weep  for  yourselves." 
Tears  might,  and  ought,  to  flow  for  him;  but  such 
tears  may  speedily  be  dried  again :  weep.  Christians, 
weep  for  him,  but  you  may  soon  dry  your  tears.     For 
he  left  the  world  that  knew  him  not;  that  returned 
him  hatred  for  his  love,  and  for  his  self-renouncing 
goodness,  the  scourge  and  the  cup  mingled  with  gall. 
The  cross  he  bore  shone  around  him,  and  from  amid 
its   darkness  a  light  inefi*able  streamed  forth.     The 
way  to  the  cross  was  the  way  to  the  throne,  where  he 
reigns  now,  and  will  reign  for  evermore.     And  there- 
fore the  Saviour  cries  to  the  children  of  his  people, 
"  Since  my  crown  of  thorns  is  to  become  a  crown  of 
glory — since  my  cross  will  be  a  throne  of  victory — 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  219 

weep  not  for  me,  weep  rather  for  yourselves.''  In  the 
one  clause,  he  expresses  the  probability  of  the  stripes 
he  looks  for  from  the  hand  of  God ;  in  the  other,  the 
certainty.  He  expresses  the  probability  of  it  in  these 
words,  "If  they  do  these  things  in  a  green  tree,  what 
shall  be  done  in  the  dry?"  He  is  the  green  tree,  the 
tree  of  life,  so  full  of  sap  and  so  fair  in  foliage,  whose 
fruit  gives  life  to  all  who  eat  thereof;  and  now,  when 
men  are  coming  to  cut  off  its  branches,  and  tear  away 
its  leafy  glory,  and  hew  down  its  noble  stem,  who 
does  not  every  moment  expect  that  a  voice  will 
descend  from  heaven — Forbear,  stay  your  hand! 
But  the  sky  above  is  voiceless  and  mute,  darkness  is 
allowed  to  complete  its  work,  and  the  Holy  One  of 
God  dies  by  the  hand  of  murderers. 

When  an  event  like  this  takes  place — when  in  a 
way  like  this,  innocence  succumbs  without  Heaven 
arming  itself  with  lightnings  in  its  defence — it  not 
unfrequently  happens,  that  the  workers  of  iniquity 
wax  bolder  in  their  evil  and  say,  "  There  is  not  a  God 
that  judges  in  heaven."  When,  however,  a  prophet's 
voice  is  heard  sounding  forth,  and  saying  in  the 
strength  of  God,  "  What  is  bleeding  there  is  suffering 
Innocence,  and  every  drop  of  blood  it  sheds  will  turn 
to  an  accuser  against  you;''  then  it  is  that,  in  fre- 
quent cases,  the  consciousness  of  that  law  which  has 
struck  so  deep  a  root  in  the  human  heart,  the  con- 
sciousness of  retribution  awakes,  and  an  idea,  dim 
and  dreadful,  hovers  over  the  soul  of  the  evil-doers, 
that  every  blow  they  give  will  one  day  return  upon 
their   own   head   with   tenfold   fury.     Therefore  the 


220  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

Saviour  says,  "If^the  God  of  judgment  has  not  put 
forth  his  hand  to  prevent  innocence  from  being  ex- 
posed to  such  cruel  sorrows,  the  contemplation  of  my 
sufferings  may  teach  you  most  unmistakeably  to  infer 
of  how  much  greater  severity  these  sufferings  will  be, 
which  fall  back  upon  those  who  have  inflicted  them." 
But  the  Saviour  speaks  not  of  a  'probability  merely. 
No ;  the  veil  of  the  future  is  raised  from  before  his 
eyes,  and  he  sees  with  distinctness  and  certainty  the 
signs  of  the  coming  wrath.  "Behold,"  he  proceeds, 
"the  days  are  coming,  in  the  which  they  shall  say, 
Blessed  are  the  barren,  and  the  wombs  that  never 
bare,  and  the  breasts  which  never  gave  suck.  Then 
shall  they  begin  to  say  to  the  mountains.  Fall  on  us ! 
and  to  the  hills,  Cover  us!"  0  Israel,  foolish  and 
deceived,  thus  it  will  be  that  the  blow  wherewith  thou 
hast  smitten  the  sacred  head  of  the  Holy  One  of  God, 
will  fall  back  with  tenfold  fury  upon  thine  own.  Hap- 
less nation,  from  that  day  forward  on  which  that  dark 
deed  shall  have  been  committed,  thou  shalt  have  no 
more  a  king,  or  a  priest,  no  more  a  temple,  no  more  a 
fatherland.  Then  will  come  to  pass  what  Moses  pro- 
phesied of  old,  "  The  Lord  shall  scatter  thee  among 
all  people,  from  the  one  end  of  the  earth  even  unto 
the  other;  and  the  Lord  shall  give  thee  there  a  trem- 
bling heart,  and  failing  of  eyes,  and  sorrow  of  mind: 
and  thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt  before  thee :  and  thou 
shalt  fear  day  and  night,  and  shalt  have  none  assur- 
ance of  thy  life."  (Deut.  xxviii.  64 — ^^.)  This  is 
the  fate  to  which  the  Saviour  turned  his  eye  when  he 
exclaimed,  "Weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  221 

and  for  jour  children."  And  what  sort  of  tears  are 
we  to  weep  ?  For  there  are  so  many  kinds  of  tears  in 
the  life  of  man.  Weep — weep  tears  of  anguish — 
weep  tears  of  sad  presage — weep  tears  oi penitence! 

Weep  tears  of  anguish — that  is,  at  the  thought  of 
the  greatness  of  the  tribulation  which  is  coming  upon 
you  and  upon  your  children!  There  were  at  that 
moment,  in  the  surrounding  crowd,  some  who  should 
survive  those  days.  Christ  had  said,  ''Verily  I  say 
unto  you,  there  be  some  standing  here  who  shall  not 
taste  of  death,  till  they  see  the  kingdom  of  God  come 
with  power."  The  greater  number,  however,  were 
not  to  see  that  day  themselves,  but  their  children 
should.  In  other  cases,  at  other  times,  men  are  wont 
to  call  the  unfruitful  unblessed,  and  those  who  never 
bare ;  but  in  the  times  of  those  terrible  judgments, 
they  shall  say,  "Blessed  are  the  barren."  For,  as 
Josephus,  the  national  historian,  informs  us,  there 
never  was  a  race  whose  distress  could  at  all  be  com- 
pared with  the  distress  of  Jerusalem,  neither  will  there 
ever  be  a  people  so  oppressed  as  Israel  was.  And 
thus  Jesus  cries,  "  Mothers,  who  love  your  children, 
weep  tears  of  anguish!"  The  blinded,  God-forsaken 
people  had  exclaimed,  when  Pilate  delivered  him  into 
their  hands,  "  His  tlood  be  on  us,  and  on  our  chil- 
dren."— Then  they  will  receive  what  they  imprecated 
upon  themselves,  and  his  blood  will  come  upon  them 
and  upon  their  children  like  a  torrent  of  devouring  fire. 
But  it  was  not  merely  individuals  that  the  calamity 
was  to  overtake,  it  was  not  families  merely;  no, 
destruction  and  ruin  were  denounced  against  the  whole 


222  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

nation.  The  curse  whicli  follows  swift  upon  tlie  heels 
of  the  fratricide,  rendering  insecure  and  treacherous 
the  ground  beneath  his  feet,  was  let  loose  upon  them. 
Weep,  then,  tears  of  mournful  presage,  cries  Jesus  to 
his  people,  at  the  thought  of  the  greatness  of  the  fall 
of  that  nation  which  could  once  boast,  "There  is  not 
anj  people  like  unto  our  nation,  or  any  god  like  unto 
our  God."  We  are,  all  of  us,  beloved,  not  merely 
individuals,  not  merely  members  of  families;  we  must 
feel  ourselves  to  be  more  than  this ;  to  be  parts  of  one 
great  whole,  members  of  one  nation  and  of  one  church. 
If  we  do  not  do  this,  it  is  because  we  fail  in  a  want 
of  expansiveness  of  vision,  because  we  are  chained  by 
sense  to  the  dust,  and  cannot  rise  above  it.  Thus  the 
mothers  of  Israel  are  to  weep  not  only  tears  of  an- 
guish for  their  own  children,  but  every  one  apart  is  to 
weep  tears  of  sad  foreboding.  For  Israel  was  to  be 
no  longer  the  keeper  of  the  mysteries  of  God;  she 
was  to  loose  that  ornament  by  means  of  which  she  had 
become  a  crown  among  the  nations,  and  had  come  to 
occupy  that  relation  to  them  which  the  heart  holds  to 
the  other  members  of  the  body.  But  more  than  this : 
Israel  should  be  altogether  erased  from  the  roll  of 
independent  nations:  should  henceforward  have  no 
king,  no  priesthood,  no  temple,  *and  no  fatherland ; 
should  dwell  among  all  other  peoples,  and  be  herself 
no  people,  scattered  throughout  all  the  earth,  and  yet 
without  a  home ;  confessing  herself  bound  by  the  law 
of  Moses,  yet  without  priest  or  sacrifice  to  atone  for 
her  transgressions.  You  see  all  that  now  fulfilled, 
and  you  are  moved ;  Israel  has  lived  through  it  all, 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  223 

and  now  that  it  has  turned  out  so,  she  weeps  tears  of 
bitter  disappointment  and  sad  regret.  0  people  of 
Israel !  thou  who  once  wast  queen  among  the  nations, 
how  do  thy  tears  flow,  even  to  this  very  hour,  at  the 
thought  that  thou  art  fallen  so  low !  But  wherefore 
does  the  veil  still  remain  before  thine  eyes,  so  that 
thou  canst  not  recognize  the  cause  of  thy  fall? 
Wherefore  didst  thou  shed  those  tears  of  bitter  regret 
over  thy  fall,  and  yet  canst  weep  no  tears  of  peni- 
tence ! 

Weep  tears  o^ penitence,  cried  the  Redeemer  to  the 
men  of  that  time.  Perchance  God  might  even  then 
draw  back  his  outstretched  arm,  ere  it  struck  the 
fatal  blow ;  perchance  he  might  even  then  recall  the 
avenging  angel  with  his  sword  already  unsheathed; 
perchance  he  might  even  then  cry,  Hold,  destroy  not ! 
We  may  conclude,  that  by  some  at  least  the  Saviour's 
call  was  obeyed,  and  penitential  tears  were  shed,  from 
the  fact  that  the  vials  of  wrath  were  not  entirely 
poured  forth.  "Except  those  days  should  be  short- 
ened," says  the  Lord,  "there  should  no  flesh  be 
saved:  but  for  the  elect's  sake  those  days  shall  be 
shortened."  But  because  only  individuals  shed  those 
tears  of  penitence  which  ought  to  have  flowed  from  the 
whole  nation,  the  vials  of  wrath  must  be  poured  forth 
upon  Jerusalem.  And  thus  she  that  was  as  a  queen 
among  the  nations,  became  as  a  servant :  "  She  weep- 
eth  sore  in  the  night,  and  her  tears  are  on  her  cheeks.'* 
(Lamentations  of  Jeremiah  i.  2.)  The  people  of  the 
Jews  have  not  themselves  forgotten  the  greatness  of 
their  fall.     On  the  contrary,  they  have  carried  with 


224     SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 

them  so  strong  an  impression  of  it,  that  they  have 
instituted  a  memorial  of  it  in  all  things  and  for  all 
time.  Thus,  whenever  they  build  a  house,  they  always 
have  a  portion  of  its  walls,  a  yard  in  breadth,  unplas- 
tered ;  on  every  festive  occasion,  room  on  the  table  for 
one  dish  is  left  empty ;  at  every  marriage-ceremony  a 
glass  is  broken ;  and  by  this  they  signify  that  sorrow 
for  the  fall  of  Jerusalem  shall  be  felt  along  with  every 
joy.  The  anniversary  of  the  day,  on  which  the  holy 
city  was  precipitated  from  its  elevation,  is  kept  with 
prayer  and  fasting;  on  that  day  no  covered  foot  dare 
enter  the  sanctuary,  no  refreshing  water  may  moisten 
their  head  or  their  hands;  in  the  dust,  on  the  naked 
floor,  they  wail  their  songs  of  lamentation.  Israel, 
wherefore  is  it  that  ye  rend  your  garments,  and  not 
your  hearts?  The  tears  ye  weep  are  only  tears  of 
sorrow,  tears  of  remorse — wherefore  do  ye  not  yet 
shed  those  tears  of  repentance  which  your  fathers 
should  have  rained  down  years  ago  ?  But,  do  we  not 
all  the  like?  We  bewail  the  consequences  of  our 
sins,  but  not  these  sins  themselves.  We  mourn  over 
the  affliction  and  sufierings  of  our  life,  but  we  fail  to 
ask  what  has  brought  them  upon  us,  and  to  what  end 
they  are  sent.  The  exclamation  of  our  Lord,  "  Weep 
not  for  me,  but  for  yourselves,"  is  applicable  to  men 
in  all  times,  because  in  every  age  and  in  every  clime, 
human  nature  is,  on  the  whole,  the  same.  And  so 
the  words  of  our  Lord  are  applicable  also  to  us. 
Therefore  I  repeat  in  your  ears  the  words  of  Jesus. 
As  often  as  the  picture  of  the  suffering  Redeemer 
comes  before  your  view,  weep  for   liim^  because   if 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  225 

your  heart  is  bound  up,  in  love,  witli  him,  you  cannot 
do  otherwise  then  shed  for  him  a  kindred  tear  of 
sympathy.  But  weep  also  for  yourselves,  weep  at 
the  thought  that  it  was  at  the  hands  of  men  that 
Jesus  suffered  and  died.  Would  you  weep  manly 
tears  by  the  cross  of  Christ,  then  let  your  tears  for 
his  suffering  be  mingled  with  tears  for  the  guilt  of 
men  which  caused  these  sufferings,  and  which  was 
discovered  in  them.  Weep,  0  men,  tears  of  fore- 
boding, tears  of  penitence,  tears  of  sympathy,  in  the 
view  of  the  cross  of  Christ. 

Congregation  of  Christians,  weep  tears  of  fore- 
boding,  as  you  contemplate  the  manifestation  of  the 
reality  of  divine  justice,  which  the  authors  of  Christ's 
suffering  brought  upon  themselves.  See  ye  not,  how 
the  vials  of  the  justice  of  God  are  emptied  upon  the 
men  who  are  ripe  for  judgment.  See  ye  not,  how 
the  tree,  which  has  become  thoroughly  withered  and 
dry,  is  hewn  down  without  mercy,  and  its  branches 
broken;  how  wherever  the  carcase  is,  there  the  eagles 
of  divine  justice  delay  not  to  accomplish  their  work? 
There  are  few  things  which  make  so  powerful  an 
impression  on  the  careless  man,  as  when  a  lightning- 
ilash  of  divine  justice  descends,  and  strikes  a  deadly 
blow  upon  the  head  of  the  transgressor.  Inasmuch 
as  we  are  now  under  a  dispensation  of  forbearance, 
the  thunders  of  God  go  softly  over  the  earth;  and  so 
gentle  is  their  voice  that  the  ears  of  most  men  hear 
them  not.  But  there  are  times  in  which  they  fall 
with  such  a  force  that  even  the  deaf  must  hear.  And 
what  an  awaking  then  ensues !  From  that  you  may 
20 


226  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

infer  what  an  awaking  it  will  be,  when  the  sea*son 
of  forbearance  is  gone  by,  and  the  day  of  the  revela- 
tion of  divine  justice  breaks,  Sinners !  who  are  still 
under  forbearance,  know  ye  not  that  when  others  are 
struck  down  with  the  flash  of  divine  justice,  their  fall 
is  intended  as  a  warning  for  you?  Ye  careless  ones, 
the  downfall  of  Jerusalem  is  for  you  a  gracious 
admonitory  sign  written  on  the  page  of  history  ?  See 
ye  not,  then,  that  there  is  a  righteousness  of  God, 
which,  although  it  may  long  retain  its  thunder,  will 
in  the  end  let  it  fall,  certainly,  irresistibly  fall,  upon 
the  head  of  the  guilty?  Careless  men,  weep  tears 
of  foreboding  for  yourselves,  as  ye  contemplate  the 
fall  of  Jerusalem,  for  herein  is  disclosed  to  you  what 
guilt  is  incurred  by  the  man  who  persists  in  despis- 
ing his  Saviour.  Others  have  already  uttered  the 
woeful  cry,  "Mountains,  fall  on  us!  hills,  cover  us!" 
And  he  who  does  not  take  warning  in  time,  will  even 
in  eternity  have  to  cry  out,  "Mountains,  fall  on  us! 
hills,  cover  us!" 

Weep  for  yourselves  tears  of  penitence  !  For  us  ? 
and  wherefore  ?  Have  we  smitten  the  Saviour's  back 
with  scourges,  have  we  loaded  him  with  insult,  have 
we  nailed  him  to  the  accursed  tree?  Have  not  the 
Jews  done  all  this?  Yes,  the  Jews  did  it,  but  in  the 
Jews,  mankind  did  it.  Mankind,  the  whole  human 
race,  sinned  in  the  Jews,  and  in  them  we  incurred  the 
guilt;  for  we  bear  in  our  bodies  the  same  flesh  and 
blood,  the  same  lust  and  hate,  and  from  Adam  we  are 
members  of  the  same  body  with  them.  Do  not 
deceive  yourselves !     When  we  contemplate  our  own 


SUFFERINaS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  227 

actions  and  those  of  others,  with  a  view  to  make  a  dis- 
tinction between  them,  we  can  doubtless  point  to  one 
action  as  being  ours,  and  to  another  as  being  our 
neighbour's.  It  may  then  appear  to  us  as  if  there 
were  no  connecting  bond  between  them,  and  as  if 
every  one  had  merely  his  own  burden  to  bear.  But 
it  is  not,  it  cannot  be  so.  Our  feelings,  and  indeed 
even  our  reason,  tell  us  another  story.  Is  not  the 
man  of  our  country,  who  has  achieved  some  deed  of 
renown — is  he  not  the  pride  of  the  whole  nation  and 
of  ourselves?  and  that  member  of  a  family  who  has 
covered  himself  with  ignominy,  is  he  not  a  load  upon 
our  own  heart?  This  feeling  is  surely  not  a  wrong 
one.  On  the  contrary,  it  is  right  and  proper,  because 
they  are  men,  and  whether  united  to  us  by  the  ties  of 
family  or  relation,  or  merely  bound  to  us  by  a  com- 
mon descent  from  Adam,  they  are  still,  in  a  greater 
or  less  degree,  our  blood-relations. 

Hast  thou  a  fallen  brother? 

Boast  not  thyself  as  free. 
The  guilt  that  stains  another, 

Shares  he  it  not  with  thee  ? 

Because  it  is  mankind  that  has  fallen,  it  is  human 
nature  in  which  all  sinners  participate.  Mankind  is 
to  feel  in  common  whatever  great  or  noble  thing  it 
has  produced,  for  by  men  that  great  and  noble  thing 
was  achieved.  When  Christ  performed  miracles,  it  is 
said,  as  we  read,  the  people  praised  God  *^who  had 
given  such  power  to  men,"  to  men,  we  read,  not  to 
one  man.     At  Christmas  we  celebrate,  by  a  solemn 


228  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

festival,  the  fact  that  a  Christ  was  born  into  humanity. 
And  thus,  too,  the  whole  of  mankind  must  feel  in 
common  the  sins  which  mankind  has  sinned;  and 
men  must  weep  that  it  should  have  been  men  who 
nailed  this  Christ  to  the  cross.  Yes,  on  this  account 
will  I  be  penitent  for  the  iniquities  which  men  have 
perpetrated  upon  the  Holy  One  of  God;  for  it  was 
mi/  human  nature,  mt/  unbelief,  m^  hardness  of  heart, 
it  was  the  carnality  that  dwells  in  niT/  breast  that 
brought  him  to  the  cross.  And  therefore  will  I  sit 
down  beneath  his  cross,  and  there  shed  penitential 
tears.  I  will  weep  to  think  that  that  human  nature, 
which  dwells  also  in  me,  should  have  become  so  deeply 
corrupted,  that  it  could  so  shamefully  outrage  the 
Saviour  of  men.  Ye  tender-hearted  souls,  which  on 
Good-Friday  shed  tears  of  compassion  over  the  sor- 
rows of  a  righteous  man,  0,  let  it  be  manly  tears  that 
ye  shod !  And  the  tears  of  Good-Friday  are  manly 
tears  only  when  tears  over  human  guilt  are  mingled 
with  those  that  flow  at  the  contemplation  of  His  suf- 
ferings. 

Finally,  weep  tears  of  sympathy  for  that  people 
which  was  in  this  case  the  instrument  of  the  sin  of 
mankind.  A  barbarous  age  regarded  that  unhappy 
race  as  the  murderers  of  the  Saviour,  and  acknow- 
ledging the  curse  under  whose  burden  to  this  hour 
they  groan,  imagined  that  it  was  its  part  to  deal  with 
redoubled  force  the  blows  with  which  the  Divine  jus- 
tice had  visited  them.  We  have  seen,  through  the 
public  prints,  that  even  in  our  own  times  this  German 
people  are  capable  of  similar  feelings  of  hatred  and 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  229 

revenge.     But  to  seek  to  take  liuman  revenge  upon 
the  guilty  one  upon  whom  God   has  poured  out  his 
vials  of  wrath,  and  laid  his   heavy  hand — can  such 
an  idea  occur  to  any  but   one  who  is  entirely  neg- 
ligent   of  the    duty   of   examining   his    own    heart? 
Christians !  surely  no  other  feeling  but  one  of  sympa- 
thy for  those  whom  God  hath  smitten  is  becoming  in 
us;  for  we  mourn  and  weep  at  the  cross  of  Christ,  to 
think  that  it  was  men  who  slew  the  Holy  One  of  God, 
and  because  we  feel  that  the  same  human  nature,  with 
all  its  sins  and  lusts,  dwells  in  our  own  breast.     It 
was  indeed  God  who  spoke  at  the  fall  of  Jerusalem, 
and  he  spoke  with  the  voice  of  a  Judge,  and  the  whole 
world  heard  his  voice,  and  he  said,  "Now  have  I  taken 
my  Spirit  away  from  them.     Once  I  had  hid  them 
under  the  shadow  of  my  hand  as  my  dear  children, 
but  now  I  have  withdrawn  my  right  hand  from  them, 
and  the  branches  of  that  noble  olive  tree  are  hewn 
down,  that  others  may  be  grafted  in.     And  who,  feel- 
ing and  owning  that  it  is  to  grace  alone  that  he  owes 
it,  if  in  their  place  he  has  been  grafted  in,  can  do 
otherwise  than  tremble  for  himself,  can  do  otherwise 
than   pray  for    them.      What!    would  we    take  ven- 
geance on  them,  instead  of  praying  for  them?     The 
words  of  the  Lord  which  form  our  text  call  upon  every 
Christian  man  to  bestow  his  sympathy  upon  the  Jew, 
upon  whom  the  hand  of  Divine  justice  lies  so  heavily. 
For  behold  Christ  himself  bestowing  it  on  them.    He, 
whose  back,  already  torn  with   scourges,  they  load 
with  the  heavy  cross,  forgetful  of  his  own  pain,  thinks 
with  sympathizing  sorrow  of  the  tribulation  coming 
20* 


230     SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 

upon  his  tormentors;  and  are  we  to  avenge,  instead 
of  praying?  0  brethren,  are  the  words  that  Paul 
spoke  in  his  time  not  in  force  till  this  day,  "Because 
of  unbelief,  they  were  broken  off;  and  thou  standest 
by  faith.  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear!''  No! 
what  becomes  us  in  our  treatment  of  the  descendants 
of  those  who  nailed  the  Saviour  to  the  cross,  is  cer- 
tainly not  arrogance  and  high-mindedness.  We  should 
rather  look  on  them  with  tears  of  alarm,  and  then, 
turning  our  eye  within  upon  ourselves,  remember  that 
a  day  may  come  when,  in  our  case  also,  the  forbear- 
ance of  God  may  be  turned  to  anger.  We  should 
contemplate  them  with  tears  of  penitence,  and  weep 
to  think  that  sin  has  so  great  a  power  over  man.  We 
should  regard  them  with  tears  of  sympathy,  since  our 
Saviour,  even  in  the  midst  of  his  own  great  sorrow, 
has  not  withheld  from  them  such  tears. 

0  Christians,  let  me  once  more  call  upon  you  to 
weep — shed  manly  tears  in  the  contemplation  of  the 
sufferings  of  your  Redeemer;  weep,  so  that  with  your 
tears  over  his  sufferings,  tears  over  your  own  guilt 
may  mingle  !     Amen. 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  231 


SERMON  YIII. 

THE    PRATER    OF    JESUS:     "FATHER,     FORGIVE    THEM,     FOR    THEY 
KNOW  NOT  WHAT  THEY  DO." 

Luke  xxiii.  33-35. — And  when  they  were  come  to  the  place  which 
is  called  Calvary,  there  they  crucified  him,  and  the  malefactors, 
one  on  the  right  hand,  and  the  other  on  the  left.  Then  said  Jesus, 
Father,  forgive  them;  for  they  know  not  what  they  do.  And  they 
parted  his  raiment,  and  cast  lots.  And  the  people  stood  beholding : 
and  the  rulers  also  with  them  derided  him,  saying.  He  saved 
others;  let  him  save  himself,  if  he  be  Christ,  the  chosen  of  God." 

Disciples  of  tlie  Lord : — You  have  been  accompany- 
ing your  Master  to  the  cross ;  you  have  heard  how, 
even  on  that  way,  words  of  compassionate  love  flowed 
from  his  gracious  lips.  Listen  to  him  this  day  as  he 
speaks  to  us  from  the  cross  itself.  The  seven  sayings 
of  the  Redeemer  on  the  cross  shall  form  henceforth 
the  subject  of  our  meditations.  And  if  some  of  you 
have  remained  till  now  unimpressed  by  the  words  of 
the  living,  0,  be  not  indifi'erent  to  the  words  of  your 
dying  Lord !  You  are  wont  to  listen  full  of  reverence  / 
to  the  words  of  a  dying  man :  what  Christian  will  not 
hearken  when  it  is  his  dying  Saviour  who  speaks  to  ' 
him  ?  0  thou  exalted  Lord  and  Saviour !  thou  hast 
said,  "  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will  draw  all 
men  unto  me."  Now  art  thou  lifted  up,  lifted  up  far 
above  the  cross,  to  the  throne  of  thy  heavenly  Father. 
Draw  us  unto  thee ;  draw  us  this  very  day ! 

The  first  saying  on  the  cross  we  read  in  the  words 
which  follow  our  last  meditation,  Luke  xxiii.  33 — 35 : 


232  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

''And  when  they  were  come  to  the  place,  which  is 
called  Calvary,  {the  place  of  a  skull,)  there  they  cru- 
cified him,  and  the  malefactors,  one  on  the  right 
hand,  and  the  other  on  the  left.  Then  said  Jesus, 
leather,  forgive  them ;  for  they  know  not  what  they 
do.  And  they  parted  his  raiment,  and  cast  lots. 
And  the  people  stood  beholding.  And  the  rulers  also 
with  them  derided  him,  saying.  He  saved  others  ;  let 
him  save  himself,  if  he  he  Christ,  the  chosen  of  GrodS^ 
When  the  Redeemer  spoke  these  words,  the  work  of 
crucifixion  had  not  yet  been  completed.  This  we 
gather  from  the  fact  that  he  does  not  say,  "They 
know  not  what  they  have  done,''  but,  "  They  know  not 
what  they  do.''  His  arms  have  already  been  stretched 
upon  the  beam  of  torture :  his  hands  have  been  bound 
to  the  wood  with  ropes;  they  are  now  about  to  be 
pierced  with  nails,  and  the  feet  likewise.  Meanwhile 
the  soldiers  who  are  sitting  by,  cast  lots  for  his 
clothes.  There  the  people  stand  looking  on  ;  here  the 
rulers  stand  mocking.  What  a  scene  is  this !  It  is 
as  though  one  saw  a  lunatic  laughing  and  sporting 
beside  the  corpse  of  his  benefactor,  whose  blood,  in 
unhallowed  madness,  he  had  that  moment  shed! 
Surely  whoever  requires  a  proof  that  sin  is  hlind  may 
find  one  here.  It  is  something  very  frightful  to  see 
a  whole  nation  in  the  act  of  commencing  to  perpetrate 
a  deed,  which,  so  long  as  it  shall  have  a  name  upon 
the  earth,  will  brand  it  with  infamy  in  the  eyes  of  men, 
and  mark  it  with  a  curse  before  God,  and  all  the  while 
there  is  not  one  among  them  all  that  knows  what  they 
do  I     This  was  literally  true ;  for  not  even  the  disci- 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  233 

pies,  however  much  they  knew  of  the  Saviour,  were 
in  a  condition  to  measure  the  full  significance  of  what 
there  took  place.  There  was  only  One,  who  knew,  in 
all  its  import,  what  was  then  going  forward :  the  man 
upon  the  cross  himself.  We  are  oppressed  by  the 
thought;  it  descends  upon  us  like  a  spiritual  ban. 
But  there  breathes  upon  us  from  the  cross,  like  a  gen- 
tle gale  to  soothe  and  to  soften  us,  that  utterance  of 
the  crucified  Saviour,  "Father,  forgive  them,  for  they 
know  not  what  they  do."  We  shall  unfold  a  little 
the  thoughts  of  the  Kedeemer  when  he  said  these 
words,  and  the  thoughts  which  they  are  fitted  to  call 
forth  in  us. 

The  thoughts  of  the  Redeemer  when  he  said  these 
words.  The  first  thought  is,  that  humanity  never 
committed  a  more  grievous  crime  than  that  which 
those  men  are  committing.  And  together  with  that 
thought  there  rises  before  his  eye  what  mitigates 
their  guilt.  Finally,  he  thinks  to  what  extent  their 
sin  can  be  forgiven,  and  in  how  far  it  is  retained. 

The  thought  is  .  before  his  soul,  that  never  has 
humanity  committed  a  more  grievous  crime.  The 
pitying  sorrow  of  the  Redeemer  has  shown  us  already 
how  great  he  thought  the  guilt  which  they  were  heap- 
ing upon  themselves.  Remember  the  tears  he  wept 
on  his  entrance  into  Jerusalem.  It  is  but  rarely  that 
even  a  tender-hearted  man  can  bring  himself  to  shed 
tears  over  the  guilt  of  others;  but  Jesus  wept  over 
the  guilt  of  Jerusalem.  Then,  recollect  how,  when 
he  lay  under  the  burden  of  the  cross,  he  spoke  of  a 
load  which  would  fall  upon  them  like  a  mountain. 


234  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

But  the  strongest  proof  that  he  regarded  their  guilt 
as  something  extraordinary,  is  seen  in  the  fact,  that 
he  could,  in  such  an  hour  as  this,  forget  his  own 
sorrow,  in  order  to  think  of  their  guilt.  Consider, 
too,  that  he  alone  could  comprehend  that  guilt  in  all 
its  proportions,  and  in  all  its  relations.  Who  that 
Man  was,  whom  those  wicked  hands  nailed  to  the 
cross — this  was  known  then  in  its  magnitude  by  no 
one — is  scarcely  known  now,  for  "no  man  knoweth 
the  Son,  but  the  Father."  No  man  knew  then 
whence  he  came,  or  whither  he  went,  what  he  bore 
in  himself,  or  what  he  brought  mankind.  He  himself 
alone  knew  all  this,  and  therefore  he  alone  knew  all 
that  was  implied  in  the  fact,  that  the  hands  of  men 
had  outraged  such  a  Man  as  this.  And  he  knew  this 
guilt  in  its  relations — in  its  connection  with  man's  his- 
tory upon  earth,  in  its  connection  with  the  world  of 
spirits.  It  was  only  he,  who  could  cast  his  eye  over 
the  long  chain  of  manifestations  of  Divine  grace,  of 
which  he  was  himself  the  consummation.  He  alone 
could  look  back  to  the  first  tints  of  light,  which  had 
appeared  on  the  horizon  of  prophecy,  thousands  of 
years  before,  and  could  trace  how  that  light  had  ever 
become  clearer  and  clearer,  until  at  length  the  Sun  of 
Righteousness,  which  it  heralded  and  foretold,  arose 
upon  the  world.  Again,  his  eye  alone  could  pierce 
into  the  spiritual  world,  and  there  perceive  the  powers 
of  darkness  celebrating  the  triumphs  of  darkness 
around  his  cross.  "Now  is  the  hour  of  darkness," 
he  said;  "now  the  prince  of  this  world  cometh,  but 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OP   CHRIST.  235 

he  has  nothing  in  me."  He  alone  knew  their  guilt  in 
all  its  breadth,  in  all  its  heighth,  in  all  its  depth. 

But  at  the  same  time,  there  arises  before  his  soul 
the  thought  of  what  mitigates  their  guilt.  Behold 
here  again  the  pitying  heart  of  Jesus!  In  the  endu- 
rance of  the  most  painful  sufferings  at  the  hands  of 
his  enemies,  in  circumstances  where,  as  one  might 
think,  even  a  righteous  man  would  have  thought  it 
right,  to  think  of  nothing  but  their  guilt  itself,  not  of 
that  by  which  the  guilt  was  extenuated.  See  how 
even  here  his  compassionate  soul  thinks  of  that! 
And  what  is  that  which  extenuates  their  guilt?  Is  it 
that  the  transgressors  were  so  utterly  blind?  And 
can  it  be  said  that  this  obscuration  of  spiritual  sense 
formed  a  ground  of  extenuating  their  crime,  of  dimin- 
ishing their  guilt?  And  shall  it  be  said,  that  those 
men  who,  in  cold  blood,  are  nailing  to  the  cross  the 
hands  from  which  only  blessings  had  flowed;  these 
others,  who,  in  their  folly  and  insensibility,  are  cast- 
ing dice  even  at  the  foot  of  the  cross;  that  third 
party,  who  look  on  cold  and  unmoved;  and  a  fourth 
who  blaspheme — what!  shall  the  fact  of  their  igno- 
rance and  indifference  form  the  very  ground  of  their 
excuse? 

My  friends,  this  very  deadness  and  dullness  of 
heart  is  itself  a  sin.  Wherever  a  similar  insensibility, 
to  that  which  the  people  round  the  cross  of  Christ 
exhibited,  is  displayed,  it  goes  up  to  heaven  as  a  loud 
and  clamant  accusation.  And  yet  I  say  not  the  less, 
that  this  kind  of  blindness  is,  in  a  certain  aspect,  a 
ground  of  palliation  of  the  offence,  and  the  Saviour 


236  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

may  still  pray  for  pardon,  even  for  men  wlio  are  so 
obtuse  and  so  dark.  For  surely  the  case  had  been 
very  different,  their  crime  had  been  far  more  awful, 
if  he  had  had  to  say,  "They  know  what  they  do!" 
Is  the  crime  equally  heinous,  when  the  drunken  son, 
who  cannot  recognize  his  father  and  benefactor, 
rushes  forward,  and — 0,  horrid  thought! — in  his 
drunken  frenzy,  plunges  into  his  body  the  murderous 
knife ;  and  when  a  son,  in  calm,  sober  deliberateness, 
deals  the  parricidal  blow?  The  alleviation  is  a  sad 
one,  I  allow;  but  still  an  alleviation  it  is,  when  the 
voice  of  the  Judge  is  able  to  say,  "  They  know  not  what 
they  do."  Is  it  then  true,  that  in  this  instance  they 
know  not  what  they  do?  In  reply  to  this  we  say, 
only  in  very  different  degrees  can  ignorance  of  what 
they  were  doing' be  predicated  of  these  different  par- 
ties to  this  crime.  Thus,  for  example,  the  Roman 
soldiers,  who  had  possibly  never  heard  him  speak, 
were  merely  the  blind  instruments  by  which  the  will 
of  their  superiors  was  executed.  We  see,  moreover, 
that  even  among  them  there  must  have  been  hearts 
with  human  sympathies  and  feelings,  for  did  not  the 
centurion  exclaim,  as  the  last  faint  ray  of  dying  light 
fell  from  the  eye  of  the  Crucified  into  his  heart, 
"Verily,  this  was  a  righteous  man!"  Then  the  peo- 
ple acted,  to  a  certain  extent,  in  ignorance ;  the  priests 
had  persuaded  them  that  a  sacrifice  well-pleasing  to 
God  was  here  offered  up.  Many  of  them,  doubtless, 
stood  there  with  a  similar  belief,  that  they  were 
engaged  in  a  good  work — to  that  which  the  women 
had,  who  brought  faggot  upon  faggot  to  the  pile  where 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  237 

the  martyr  Huss  was  burnt.  Thus,  too,  the  rulers  of 
the  people  were  not  fully  conscious  of  what  they  did; 
nor  was  even  the  high-priest,  although  he  had  cer- 
tainly spoken  against  the  testimony  of  his  own  con- 
science, when  he  said,  "He  is  guilty  of  death."  In 
some  degree,  it  could  be  said  of  all,  even  of  Caiaphas, 
that  they  knew  not  what  they  did ;  even  Caiaphas  knew 
it  not,  for  he  was  far  too  common  a  sinner  to  be  able 
clearly  to  understand  the  import  of  the  crime  he  com- 
mitted. He  who  knew  better  than  any  of  them  what 
he  had  done,  was  Judas,  and  for  Judas  the  Lord  has 
no  prayer  for  pardon  to  offer ;  of  Judas  he  must  say, 
"Better  were  it  for  him  that  he  had  never  been  born." 
But  there  was  a  long  gradation  of  wickedness  and 
guilt  from  Caiaphas  to  Judas ;  and  again  there  was  a 
long  way  from  Caiaphas  down  to  the  blinded  multi- 
tude, and  the  unquestioning  servants  of  the  law.  The 
guilt  of  the  one  and  of  the  other,  can,  as  I  have  already 
said,  be  measured  by  no  one  but  by  Him  who  holds  in 
his  hands  the  line  of  eternal  justice.  The  all-seeing 
eye  alone  can  know  the  thousand  unseen  threads  by 
which  circumstances  and  human  transgression  are 
linked  together,  which  connect  error  with  sin;  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  guilt  of  one  man  with  that  of 
another :  the  all-seeing  eye  alone  knows  likewise  what 
measure  of  guilt  attached  to  each  individual  in  the 
deed  of  blackness  which  was  done  at  Golgotha — that 
there  are  degrees  of  wickedness  as  well  as  of  respon- 
sibility; and  that  even  the  weakest  of  all  judges — a 
Pilate  for  instance — is  not  accounted  guiltless.  This 
is  a  truth  which  the  Saviour  himself  expresses  in  the 
21 


238  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

presence  of  Pilate,  "Thou  couldst  have  no  power  at 
all  against  me  except  it  were  given  thee  from  above : 
therefore  he  that  delivered  me  unto  thee  hath  the 
greater  sin."  And  yet  they  had  all,  more  or  less, 
perhaps  only  with  the  exception  of  Judas,  the  benefit 
of  the  prayer,  "  They  know  not  what  they  do."  This 
thought  might,  to  a  certain  extent,  serve  to  calm  the 
troubled  heart  of  the  Saviour,  as  it  calms  our  own. 
Only  imagine,  for  a  moment,  that  it  had  been  other- 
wise, and  that  all  of  them  had  set  about  the  work  of 
infamy  like  Judas,  with  open  eyes  and  conscience 
unobscured;  and  then  picture  to  yourselves  the  scene 
as  before  the  cross — the  dice,  the  gazing  multitude, 
the  scoffing.  No!  it  could  never  be  tolerated,  for 
then  they  that  stood  round  the  cross  were  no  longer 
men — but  an  army  of  devils. 

"Father,  forgive  them,  for  they  know  not  what 
they  do."  Yes,  there  is  a  touching  mildness  in  this 
petition,  which  strikes  one  at  the  first  glance ;  but 
have  you  ever  duly  considered  what  a  deep,  sacred 
earnestness  there  is  in  it  at  the  same  time?  In 
speaking  of  a  sin  which  may  be  forgiven^  is  there  no 
reference  to  another  kind  of  guilt,  which  cannot  be 
forgiven,  which  is  retained  ?  To  what  length  does 
his  petition  for  forgiveness  go?  It  reaches  only  as 
far  as  their  ignorance  reached,  according  to  the  vari- 
ous degrees  of  it.  By  these  words,  the  Lord  shows, 
that  there  is  a  condition  which  renders  the  forgiveness 
of  sin  impossible — that  there  is  a  sin  for  the  pardon 
of  which  he  will  not  pray.  In  so  far  as  their  sin 
was  committed  with  knowledge,  he  cannot  pray  for 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  239 

its  forgiveness.  This  is  the  awful  side  of  those 
gracious  words  of  Christ.  Sin  committed  without 
better  knowledge  is  still  sin ;  it  is  still  something  that 
should  find  no  place  in  man,  which  is  where  it  ought 
not  to  be,  and  therefore  it  stands  in  need  of  the  grace 
of  God,  it  refuses  to  be  forgiven ;  but  such  sin  can  be 
and  is  pardoned,  even  before  it  is  repented  of,  in  the 
sense  of  the  word  which  Paul  spoke  to  the  Athenians, 
"  The  times  of  your  ignorance  God  overlooked."  The 
hour  in  which  God  requires  men  to  repent  has  arrived, 
only  when  a  knowledge  of  the  sins  imparted,  as  in 
the  same  passage  Paul  says,  "But  now  he  command- 
eth  all  men  everywhere  to  repent."  But  the  commis- 
sion of  wilful  sin  is  itself  a  declaration  that  the  sin- 
ner will  not  repent,  at  all  events  will  not  in  that 
moment  when  he  sins,  for  if  he  would  repent  he  would 
do  so  ere  even  the  deed  was  done.  And  therefore, 
for  wilful  and  deliberate  sins,  there  is  no  prayer  for 
pardon,  until  repentance  has  first  awoke  within  the 
breast,  and  ah !  how  hard  is  it  to  awake  the  heart  to 
repentance,  when  her  voice  has  already  been,  once 
and  again,  rudely  put  to  silence.  The  clearer  the 
knowledge  with  which  the  sin  is  committed,  the  more 
difiicult  will  it  be  to  repent,  and  the  more  impossible 
to  obtain  forgiveness.  Every  deliberate  transgression 
is  only  an  inferior  degree  of  that  sin  concerning  which 
it  is  written,  that  it  will  never  be  forgiven,  either  in 
this  life  or  in  the  life  to  come — the  sin  against  the  Holy 
Ghost.  And  wherefore  can  that  sin  not  be  forgiven? 
Because  it  renders  the  heart  so  hard,  that  no  beam  of 
the  light  of  God  can  ever  soften  it  again,  no  flash  of 


240     SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 

the  love  of  God  ever  make  it  tremble.  For,  as  we 
read  in  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  "it  is  impossible 
for  those  who  were  once  enlightened,  and  have  tasted 
of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made  partakers  of  the- 
Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted  the  powers  of  the  world 
to  come,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again 
unto  repentance,  seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves 
the  Son  of  God  afresh,  and  put  him  to  an  open  shame." 
(Heb.  vi.  4 — 6.)  The  more  distinctly  thou  knowest 
it,  the  more  difficult  will  repentance  be,  and  the  harder 
it  is  to  repent,  the  more  impossible  it  is  to  be  forgiven. 
The  Lord  has  no  prayer  for  forgiveness  to  present  on 
behalf  of  Judas,  because  Judas  knew  what  he  did, 
and  all  we  read  of  him  is,  "It  had  been  good  for  that 
man  if  he  had  not  been  born."  Now,  in  so  far  as  the 
sins  committed  at  Golgotha  were  wilfully  and  know- 
ingly committed,  the  judgment  of  God  has,  even  in 
time,  overtaken  them.  Judas,  who  better  than  any  of 
them  knew  what  he  had  done,  fell  the  victim  of  his 
own  remorse.  The  many  sins  of  knowledge  which 
brought  Jesus  to  the  cross  were  visited  with  judgment 
in  time,  in  those  days  when  the  temple  of  Jerusalem 
was  burnt  up  with  fire.  And  yet  even  in  those  days 
of  horror,  the  prayer,  "Father,  forgive  them,"  for 
their  sins  of  ignorance  sake,  was  heard.  For,  as  Paul 
exclaims,  "  God  hath  not  wholly  cast  away  his  peo- 
ple"— and  thus  a  day  of  salvation  is  yet  in  store  for 
Israel.  0  my  brothers!  you  dare  not  make  light  of 
sin,  for  there  are  sins  for  which  the  Saviour  asks  no 
forgiveness. 

You  see,  then,  what  were  the  thoughts  which  filled 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     241 

the  Saviour's  mind  when  he  spoke  the  words  of  our 
text,  and  those  words  call  forth  the  same  thoughts  in 
us.  Arise  then,  ye  sinners  that  are  at  ease,  arise 
and  acknowledge, 

1.  That  beneath  the  cross  of  Christ  men  act  in  the 
same  loay  now  as  they  did  then ;  and, 

2.  That  now  as  then  it  is  true  of  these  sinners 
beneath  the  cross,  that  they  partly  know  not  what 
they  do,  and  partly  know  what  they  do ;  so  that 
their  sins  are  in  part  forgiven,  and  in  part  retained. 

Beneath  the  cross  of  Christ  men  act  in  the  same 
way  now  as  they  did  then.  We  stand  and  cry  out 
against  the  wickedness  and  obtuseness  of  the  Jews 
beneath  the  cross,  and  we  do  not  recollect  that,  unto 
this  very  day,  everything  they  did  is  repeated  and 
acted  over  again  by  those  who  call  themselves 
Christ's  disciples.  For  to  this  day.  Christians  nail 
their  Saviour  to  the  cross,  and  if  they  pierce  not  his 
hands  and  his  feet,  still  they  pierce  his  heart.  Do 
you  inquire,  who  does  this  ?  Ye  do  it,  you  who  have 
not  even  strength  enough  in  his  name,  and  by  looking 
up  to  him,  to  combat  and  to  shun  the  commission  of 
known  sins.  0  let  us  not  deceive  ourselves  in  this 
matter — think,  how  wide  in  our  lives,  is  that  sphere 
over  which  known  sins  have  sway.  Probably  no  one 
will  be  found,  who,  with  clear  knowledge  and  deli- 
berate will,  consents  to  do  what  his  conscience  con- 
demns; but,  I  ask  you,  are  there  many  here  who  can 
render  to  themselves  this  testimony,  that  they  never 
give  the  lie  to  their  conscience,  never  apply  to  it  a 
sleeping-draught,  never  seek  to  put  off  their  con- 
21* 


242  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF    CHRIST. 

science  with  excuses  and  self-justifications,  to  which 
they  themselves  do  not  seriously  give  credit  ?  And  if 
you  have  done  this,  you  are  guilty  of  wilful  sins,  and 
your  wilful  sins  are  the  nails  which  pierce  the  heart 
of  your  Redeemer.  But  to  go  further :  what  a  multi- 
tude of  Christians  are  there  up  to  this  very  day,  who 
stand  and  stare  beneath  the  cross,  without  being  sen- 
sible of  an  emotion  or  a  thought.  Surely  they 
think  and  feel  nothing  there;  for  if  they  did,  would 
not  the  first  thought  and  feeling  be  one  that  would 
arise  with  a  power  in  their  souls,  mighty  enough  to 
change  and  transform  their  whole  life?  Would  not 
their  first  thought  be  this:  "What  am  I  doing  for 
Him  who  has  done  so  much  for  me?"  Further:  I  see 
that  now,  as  in  those  days,  men  can  sport  and  jest, 
can  throw  dice  and  play  cards  at  the  foot  of  the 
cross,  without  ever  thinking  on  that  cross  and  on  Him 
who,  for  man's  sin,  hung  bleeding  there.  Ye  old 
men,  ye  young  men,  say,  is  your  Christianity  one 
which  carries  with  it  into  all  the  occupations,  into  all 
the  pleasures  and  recreations  of  life,  the  thought  of 
the  cross  of  Christ?  Or,  are  you  of  those  whose 
gaity  would  become  mute,  whose  joy  would  grow  pale, 
if  the  thought  or  the  name  of  the  cross  of  Christ  were 
once  intruded  upon  it?  Christians,  do  not  forget  that 
no  sport  or  jest  or  pleasure  can  stand  in  the  sight  of 
God,  where  one  must  first  cast  out  of  one's  mind  the 
thought  of  the  cross  of  Christ  before  one  can  be 
happy. — Finally:  To  this  very  day  men  are  capable 
of  mocking  beneath  the  cross.  The  scofi'er  still 
re-echoes  the  taunt,  "He  saved  others,  himself  he 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  243 

cannot  save."  Ah,  has  he  no  idea  of  a  Love  which 
came  into  the  world,  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister;  has  he  no  idea  that  this  is  just  the  spiritual 
crown  and  glory  of  Christ,  that  he  who  had  saved 
others,  would  not  save  himself.  0  that  this  medita- 
tion on  the  sufferings  of  Christ  may  not  be  fruitless 
to  any  of  us !  Christians,  it  is  not  at  the  Jews  that 
we  should  be  confounded,  when  we  beheld  them 
gaming  and  mocking  by  the  cross  of  Christ;  it  is 
rather  our  own  Christian  people  that  should  put  us  to 
shame,  and  our  own  selves  in  so  far  as  we  are  par- 
takers in  their  sin ! 

Yes,  let  us  be  amazed  and  confounded  at  ourselves, 
because  it  is  true  of  us  now,  as  it  was  of  the  Jews 
then :  in  part  we  know  not  what  we  do ;  in  part,  again, 
we  do  know  what  we  do;  hence  it  is  true  of  us,  that 
our  sins  are  partly  forgiven  us ;  partly,  however,  are 
they  retained  before  God.  Partly  the  benefit  of  these 
words  is  put  down  to  our  account;  we  know  not 
what  we  do.  You  have  not  belonged  to  that  happy 
number  who  learn  in  infancy  to  lisp  their  Saviour's 
name ;  perhaps  you  never  once  in  your  life  saw  your 
fathers  bend  their  knees  in  prayer;  your  pastors  were 
wont  to  preach  the  imaginations  of  their  own  heart, 
instead  of  the  thoughts  of  the  heart  of  God;  in  the 
whole  wide  circle  of  your  acquaintance  you  did  not 
possess  a  single  friend  who  bore  you  on  his  heart  in 
intercession  before  God.  And  if,  in  these  circum- 
stances, you  can  look  upon  your  dying  Lord  without 
feeling  your  heart  burn  within  you,  if  you  can  even 
pursue  your  own  pleasure  at  the  foot  of  that  very 


244  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

cross  on  which  the  Son  of  God  is  giving  up  his  life 
for  you,  then  it  may  be  said  of  you,  "  Ye  know  not 
what  ye  do."  Remember,  however,  this  very  igno- 
rance on  your  part  is  guilty  in  the  sight  of  God ! 
Were  not  our  sins  of  ignorance  still  sins — even 
although  they  may  be  pardonable  sins — would  the 
Lord  have  occasion  to  pray  for  their  forgiveness? 
That  ye  know  not  what  ye  do,  is  possible ;  but,  I  ask 
you,  might  you  not  have  known  it?  No  one  has 
pointed  out  to  you  where  you  might  find  the  pearl  of 
great  price — no  one  has  presented  that  pearl  to  you, 
and  held  it  up  before  you  in  the  sun,  and  shown  you 
its  brightness  and  its  purity;  but  have  you  never 
heard  of  a  certain  merchant,  who  went  forth  himself 
in  search  of  pearls,  and  who,  when  he  had  found  one 
of  rare  and  costly  beauty,  went  and  sold  all  that  he 
had,  and  bought  that  pearl  of  great  price?  They 
have  not  brought  the  pearl  to  you,  but  why  have  you 
not  gone  out  to  seek  it  on  the  market-place  of  life? 
See,  it  is  this  want  of  longing  after  salvation,  this 
being  content  to  feed  your  immortal  soul  on  husks, 
this  it  is  that  condemns  you.  You  belong  to  those 
sinners  who  sin  in  ignorance ;  but  you  belong  also  to 
those  who  might  have  known,  had  they  chosen.  Still, 
for  you  the  Saviour  prayed.  And  if  ye  will  only 
now,  if  ye  will  in  this  moment,  when  the  pearl  of 
great  price  is  held  before  you,  stretch  forth  your  hand 
and  take  it,  if  ye  will  sell  all  that  ye  have  to  buy  this 
pearl,  then  doubtless  will  the  benefit  of  these  words 
of  Paul  be  given  to  you,  "  The  times  of  this  ignorance 
God  hath  overlooked."     And  for  you  the  Saviour  on 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  245 

tlie  cross  hath  prayed.  But  according  to  the  measure 
of  your  knowledge  of  what  you  did ;  in  so  far  as  the 
pearl  was  held  up  before  you,  and  its  beauty  pointed 
out  to  you,  and  you  refused  it;  if  the  tears  of  your 
parents,  the  sighs  of  your  teachers,  the  uplifted  hands 
of  your  pastors,  rise  up  as  witnesses  against  you ;  and 
if  all  these  cry  out  against  you,  "  We  are  innocent 
of  their  blood — their  blood  come  not  on  us,  but  on 
their  own  heads ;  if  such  be  7/our  case,  alas  for  you ! 
For  the  Lord  asks  no  forgiveness  for  those  who  sin 
wilfully — who  sin  against  their  better  knowledge. 
How  much  harder  it  has  become  for  you  to  repent 
and  be  converted  now  than  it  was  before !  The  more 
reckless  and  persistent  the  course  of  sin  is,  the  harder 
does  the  heart  become;  the  greater  the  hardness  of 
heart,  the  more  difficult  is  repentance ;  the  more  diffi- 
cult repentance,  the  more  impossible  is  forgiveness. 
0  that  this  prayer  of  the  Lord,  which  prays  with 
such  graciousness  for  those  who  sin  through  ignor- 
ance, may  recall,  with  solemn  earnestness,  to  the 
minds  of  all  here  present,  the  fact,  that  there  are  sins 
for  which,  even  in  this  life,  the  Saviour  does  not 
pray,  and  which  are  retained  even  until  the  sinner 
comes  to  repentance ;  and  yet  every  step  he  takes 
makes  his  repentance  all  the  more  arduous,  and  all 
the  more  hopeless.  How  do  these  words  on  the  cross 
call  to  us,  in  God's  name,  not  to  make  light  of  sin ! 
0,  what  a  serious  thing  sin  must  be,  if  all  sins  of 
knowledge  are  retained  before  God,  and  if  even  our 
sins  of  ignorance  stand  in  need  of  pardon  ! 

0  cross  of  Christ!   thou  rock  for  the  falling  and 


246  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

the  rising  of  many,  thou  tree  of  life,  and  thou  tree  of 
damnation ! — tree  of  life  for  sinners  through  ignor- 
ance, tree  of  damnation  for  all  those  who  sin  against 
Thee  and  know  what  they  do — 0 !  may  the  day  never 
come  when  it  shall  be  said  of  so  much  as  one  of  us, 
"  it  had  been  better  for  that  man  if  he  had  not  been 
born,  for  in  sinning  he  knew  what  he  did!"  0 
Saviour  of  love,  grant  that  when  our  dying  hour  shall 
come,  the  prayer  of  thy  dying  hour  may  be  heard  for 
us !     Amen. 


SERMON    IX. 

CHRIST    AND    THE    PENITENT    THIEF. 

Luke  xxiii.  39-43. — And  one  of  the  malefactors  which  were  hanged 
railed  on  him,  saying,  If  thou  be  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us.  But 
the  other,  answering,  rebuked  him,  saying,  Dost  not  thou  fear  God, 
seeing  thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation  ?  And  we  indeed  justly; 
for  we  receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds:  but  this  man  hath  done 
nothing  amiss.  And  he  said  unto  Jesus,  Lord,  remember  mo 
when  thou  comest  into  thy  kingdom.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him* 
Verily  I  say  unto  thee,  to-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord : — We  are  engaged  in  the  con- 
templation of  the  seven  sayings  of  the  Redeemer  on 
the  cross.  It  is  as  if,  in  these  seven  sayings,  seven 
doors  of  his  soul  were  opened  before  us,  through 
every  one  of  which  a  different  brightness  pours,  to 
call  up  each  a  different  emotion  in  our  heart.  From 
the  first  of  them  the  graciousness  of  pardon  beamed 
forth  upon  us,  to  calm  and  pacify  our  perturbed  and 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     247 

distracted  spirit.  To-day  througli  another  open  door 
stream  forth  the  serenity  and  majesty  of  the  Saviour, 
even  in  his  deep  humiliation.  Soon  will  the  ^'Eloi, 
Eloi,  lama  sabachthani,"  sound  in  our  ear,  and  we 
shall  experience  how  deep  the  abyss  of  sorrow  was, 
into  which,  from  love  to  us,  the  Lord  descended.  We 
read  to-day,  in  Luke  xxiii.  39 — 43,  the  words:  ''And 
one  of  the  malefactors  which  were  hanged,  railed  on 
Mm,  saving,  If  thou  be  Christ,  save  thyself  and  us. 
But  the  other,  answering,  rebuked  him,  saying, 
Dost  not  thou  fear  Grod,  seeing  thou  art  in  the 
same  condemnation  9  And  we  indeed  Justly  ;  for  we 
receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds:  but  this  man 
hath  done  nothing  amiss.  And  he  said  unto  Jesus, 
Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest  into  thy  king- 
dom.  And  Jesus  said  unto  him.  Verily  I  say  unto 
thee,  to-day  shalt  thou  be  with  me  in  paradise!'' 

What  an  occurrence  is  this !  Who  would  have  ex- 
pected such  a  scene  on  such  a  stage,  on  that  very 
stage  where  blindness  is  showing  itself  in  its  deepest 
obscuration,  and  obtuseness  in  its  most  revolting  ob- 
duracy? One  might  have  expected  to  have  seen  the 
light  of  majesty  break  forth  from  amid  the  Saviour's 
humiliation  beneath  the  cross,  and  this  takes  place 
upon  the  cross  itself.  Is  there,  then,  beneath  the 
cross,  among  those  four  or  five  thousand  souls,  not 
one  that  wakes,  is  there  not  so  much  as  one  among 
those  hard  hearts  that  becomes  soft  ?  No ;  beneath 
the  cross  there  was  not  one,  but  upon  the  cross  itself 
there  was  one.  Here  too  is  human  expectation  de- 
ceived.    Behold   the  two-fold  scene  which  our  text 


248  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

displays :  it  represents  the  repose  and  majesty  of  pie 
Redeemer  in  his  deei^est  humiliation^  and  at  the  same 
time  the  penitence  and  faith  of  a  simmer  in  his  last 
moments.  This  calm  tranquillity  of  the  Lord,  and 
this  penitence  of  the  malefactor,  are  equally  well 
fitted  to  make  us  tremble.  0  God,  our  heavenly 
Father  !  help  us  to  humble  our  proud  hearts  under 
thy  word! 

Let  us  contemplate  the  repose  and  majesty  of  the 
Redeemer  even  in  his  deepest  abasement.  They  had 
placed  the  crown  of  thorns  on  his  head,  they  had 
scourged  his  back,  had  spat  upon  his  face,  had  bound 
his  hands,  they  had  nailed  him  to  the  cross  between 
two  malefactors.  That  he  must  breathe  his  last  be- 
tween malefactors,  he  himself  characterizes  as  the 
lowest  stage  of  his  appearing  in  the  form  of  a  servant. 
This  too,  as  he  says  at  another  place,  must  be  ful- 
filled: he  is  numbered  with  the  transgressors.  But  it 
seems  as  if  even  here  a  deeper  degradation  awaits 
him:  even  among  those  transgressors,  he  becomes  the 
object  of  scorn  and  insult.  You  have  read  it  many  a 
time,  but  perhaps  you  have  never  thought  what  this 
implies.  A  malefactor,  a  common  criminal,  saying  in 
the  face  of  the  Christ,  "  Brother,  thou  too  art  as  I  am ! 
I  have  played  a  dangerous  game,  and  so  hast  thou; 
thou  wouldst  play  the  king  of  Israel — thou  seest  now 
what  comes  of  it,  when  one  aims  too  high!"  0  holy 
Majesty,  where  are  then  thy  lightnings,  and  if  thou 
hide  them,  where  is  then  the  thunder  of  thy  speech ! 
0  King  of  Heaven,  deeper  in  thy  humiliation  couldst 
thou  not  have  gone  down !     But  even  then  Jesus  suf- 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  249 

fers  and  is  silent.  How  does  this  silent  tranquillity 
act  with  the  power  of  a  heavenly  charm  upon  the 
spirit.  Let  us  once  more  humble  ourselves  before 
him,  once  more  here,  as  he  stands  on  the  lowest  plat- 
form of  ignominy.  0  my  brother,  I  too  have  a  heart 
of  flesh  and  blood,  and  I  know  what  it  is  to  permit 
one's  honour  to  be  trodden  under  foot  by  brute  force 
or  blind  malevolence,  and  yet,  even  in  such  circum- 
stances I  call  upon  you,  in  view  of  the  calmness  of 
Jesus :  Avenge  not  yourselves,  but  commit  yourselves 
to  him  that  judgeth  rightly !  0  all  ye  hearts  to  whom 
honour  is  a  thing  of  value,  you  may  look  down  on 
those  who  do  not  feel  that  honour  is  a  possession,  a 
possession  too  for  which  a  man  must  be  willing  to 
stake  something — but  at  the  same  time  you  must  look 
up  when  you  contemplate  him,  who,  although  his  is 
an  honour  before  which  angels  stand  and  worship, 
even  in  this  moment  does  not  avenge  himself,  but  en- 
dures and  is  silent,  even  when  a  servant  smites  him 
in  the  face,  even  when  a  malefactor  says  to  him, 
"Thou  art  like  us!"  I  know  how  the  heart,  espe- 
cially of  you  young  men,  boils  at  the  very  thought  of 
being  called  on  to  submit  to  such  injustice,  I  know 
how  your  pulse  fevers  and  your  eye  flashes.  "  Rather 
life  than  honour!"  I  hear  you  cry.  And  yet,  I  ask, 
can  you  in  your  heart  of  hearts  do  otherwise  than 
worship  before  the  celestial  repose  which,  in  the  full 
consciousness  of  its  honour  and  majesty,  was  at  the 
same  time  able  to  forego  retaliation,  and  in  silent 
magnanimity  to  sufl*er  and  to  bear  ?  Brothers,  if  your 
zeal  for  wounded  honour  is  manly,  believe  me,  the 
22 


250  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

calmness  with  whicli  Jesus  suiFers  is  divine.  But  what 
if  the  darkness  of  approaching  death  has  already  cast 
its  shadow  across  his  mental  eye?  Has  he  in  the 
weakness  of  dissolving  nature  ceased  to  acknowledge 
either  his  own  innocence  or  his  own  majesty?  Was 
he  silent,  because  he  was  no  longer  conscious,  no 
longer  felt  that  the  head  which  was  there  insulted 
was  one  which  God  had  anointed  that  it  should  be  the 
head  of  all  heads,  of  all  princes,  thrones,  and  powers, 
in  heaven  and  on  earth?  No,  not  such  was  the  cause 
of  his  silence.  Behold,  now  Jesus  suffers  and  is  silent. 
But  when,  in  the  absence  of  all  other  testimony,  the 
testimony  of  a  malefactor  is  heard,  then  does  Jesus 
show  that  he  has  endured  all,  in  the  full  conscious- 
ness both  of  his  holiness  and  of  his  majesty,  as  he 
utters  those  wondrous  words,  "  This  day  shalt  thou  be 
with  me  in  paradise."  Consider  first  how  these  words 
reveal  the  consciousness  of  his  holy  innocence.  In  the 
eye  of  man  he  is  condemned,  and  the  cross  is  for  him 
the  tree  of  ignominy ;  but  in  the  eye  of  God  he  is  holy, 
and  the  cross  is  but  the  lowest  footstep  of  his  throne 
— "This  day  even,  he  is  to  be" — where?  Who  does 
not  listen  with  strained  attention  for  the  answer; 
where,  0  where  are  the  souls  of  the  holy  among  men, 
after  the  last  sigh  has  died  in  their  breast,  and  the  last 
fight  has  been  fought?  This  very  day,  he  says  of 
himself,  he  is  to  be — "in  paradise!''  That  one  might 
wish  to  have  cast  a  deeper  and  fuller  glance  than  these 
words  allow  into  the  world  that  lies  beyond  the  grave, 
we  will  not  deny.  But  the  Redeemer  speaks  to  the 
penitent  soul,  and  speaks  as  such  a  soul  alone  can 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  251 

understand ;  and  we  must  own  that  for  our  religious 
feeling,  at  least,  these  words — "in  paradise" — are 
sufficient.  And  so  the  dying  Saviour  is  to  be  to-day 
in  that  place,  where  for  man  no  more  thorns  and 
thistles  grow,  where  there  will  consequently  be  no 
more  sweat  of  his  face  and  no  tears  from  his  eyes ;  he 
will  be  there,  where  God  will  once  more,  as  in  the  days 
of  innocence,  say  to  man,  My  child!  and  man,  full  of 
confidence,  will  reply.  My  Father !  He  will  be  there, 
th^re  to-day.  And  Jesus  knew  this,  and  therefore  he 
was  silent  when  his  holy  innocence  was  insulted,  and 
when  even  a  criminal  dared  to  say  to  him,  "Art  not 
thou  even  like  unto  us?"  He  was  silent,  although  he 
was  well  aware,  not  only  that  that  day  he  would  be  in 
paradise,  but  that  he  held  in  his  pierced  hand  the  keys 
of  that  paradise.  Behold  here  his  majesty!  He, 
whom  they  have  condemned,  appears  as  himself  the 
arbiter  of  life  and  death,  and  awards  eternal  blessed- 
ness or  pronounces  the  sentence  of  damnation.  He, 
whom  they  are  crucifying  as  a  blasphemer  of  God, 
"  bestows  as  the  Son  of  God  the  privileges  of  adoption 
in  the  kingdom  of  his  Father.  The  cross  has  become 
a  judgment-seat;  the  cross  has  become  a  throne! 
And  thus,  even  in  the  depths  of  his  humiliation,  he 
was  ever  conscious  of  his  majesty.  With  this  con- 
sciousness he  sufi'ered  in  silence,  when  they  nailed  him 
to  the  cross ;  with  this  consciousness  he  endured  with- 
out a  murmur,  even  when  they  erected  beside  him  the 
crosses  of  criminals,  and  allowed  it  to  pass  in  silence 
when  one  of  the  malefactors  said  to  him — to  him,  the 
Judge  of  all— "Thou  art  as  we  are !"  0  dying  Saviour, 


252  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

how  dost  thou,  even  in  thine  hour  of  death,  breathe 
on  men  a  breath  of  life !  The  breath  of  a  new  spirit 
comes  upon  me  from  my  dying  Lord.  Now,  I  learn 
that  there  is  a  very  different  kind  of  honour,  from 
that  which  is  called  honour  among  men.  Yes,  to  be 
silent  as  thou  wert  silent,  is  nobler  than  to  speak ;  to 
suffer  as  thou  didst  suffer,  is  greater  than  to  avenge 
one's  honour !  We  renounce  and  set  aside  all  ideals, 
all  exemplars  of  our  own  creation,  in  order  that  we 
may  this  day  lose  ourselves  entirely  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  thy  serene  repose ! 

Christians,  we  have  been  led  into  sin  a  thousand  times 
by  hearkening  to  flesh  and  blood.  Let  this  be  a  day 
of  humiliation  for  every  act  of  self-revenge,  for  every 
passionate  word,  every  ebullition  of  our  proud,  undis- 
ciplined heart.  Let  us  this  day  kneel  down  by  the 
cross,  and,  in  the  presence  of  him  who  was  serene  and 
composed  even  when  enduring  the  deepest  dishonour, 
let  us  take  the  vow  upon  us  to  be  dispassionate  and 
calm  like  him — **  Vengeance  is  mine,  saith  the  Lord, 
I  will  repay."  Ye  who,  for  your  Saviour  and  his 
cause,  seek  not  yourselves  to  avenge  your  honour,  but 
rather  commit  it  into  the  hands  of  him  who  holds  the 
reins  of  universal  government,  believe  it,  he  will  con- 
duct your  cause  and  bring  it  to  a  happy  issue.  The 
hour  will  come  when  your  honour  will  be  made  to 
shine  forth  like  the  light,  and  even  here,  if  you  are 
silent,  God  will  raise  up  others  to  speak  for  you. 
"If  these  are  silent,  the  stones  will  cry  out."  Even 
among  the  malefactors,  he  found  one  to  vindicate  the 
honour  of  the  Saviour  when  he  was  silent,  and  the 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  253 

malefactor  on  the  right  rebuked  the  blasphemous  in- 
solence of  him  who  hung  upon  the  left.  Thus  will  he 
in  his  own  time  bring  your  honour  also  to  the  light. 
But  in  order  to  be  able  thus  to  surrender  the  work  of 
vindicating  one's  honour  into  the  hands  of  God,  faithj 
strong  faith  is  necessary,  a  faith  well  ordered  and 
sure — a  faith  so  heroic  and  so  strong,  that  it  will  not 
grow  faint  or  feeble,  even  should  innocence  and  ma- 
jesty ignored  have  to  wear  for  a  time  the  meanest  and 
most  menial  raiment;  in  a  word,  a  faith  like  that 
which  the  thief  upon  the  right  hand  of  the  cross  pos- 
sessed. You  have  humbled  yourselves  in  contem- 
plation of  the  Saviour's  repose:  that  no  flesh  may 
glory  in  his  presence,  learn  now,  ye  proud  spirits,  to 
humble  yourselves  before  the  penitence  and  before 
the  faith  of  a  malefactor. 

Let  us  now  cast  our  eye  upon  him.  Look  with  con- 
fusion of  face  at  the  penitence  and  the  faith  of  this 
sinner  in  his  last  moments.  What !  you  exclaim,  be 
ashamed  and  humbled  before  this  criminal?  I  know 
how  your  proud  flesh  and  blood  shrink  back  from  the 
thought.  Perhaps  your  pride  has  already  more  than 
once  risen  up  against  this  sinner,  because  he  was  saved 
in  the  last  moments  of  his  life  by  grace  alone.  For 
you  belong  to  the  class  of  people  who  bring  to  tlie 
Judge  of  the  world  their  many  virtues  and  good 
works;  and  to  think  that  you  should  humble  your- 
selves before  a  criminal  who  is  converted  in  the  very 
last  hour  of  a  life  of  sin !  But  however  unpalatable 
it  may  be,  you  must  be  content  to  do  so,  so  long  as, 
with  all  your  virtues  and  good  works,  you  omit  to 
22* 


254  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

bring  to  God  those  sacrifices  with  which  alone  he  is 
well  pleased ;  for  those  were  just  the  sacrifices  which 
this  malefactor  in  his  last  moments  brought,  and  with- 
out which  no  mortal  can  find  access  to  God.  Those 
sacrifices  are  penitence  and  faith.  Look,  are  the 
offerings  he  presents  not  exactly  those  which,  accord- 
ing to  the  doctrine  of  our  Church,  are  necessary  to 
the  regeneration  of  a  man?  He  brings  faith  and 
repentance,  a  heart  that  owns  its  sin,  that  confesses  it 
before  God  and  men,  that  even  willingly  submits  itself 
to  the  punishment  of  that  sin;  at  the  same  time,  he 
brings  a  heart  which,  even  in  the  very  moment  between 
life  and  death,  believes  in  free,  unmerited  grace, 
through  Jesus  Christ. 

This  malefactor  was  penitent,  and  in  his  penitence 
he  is  held  out  before  us  for  our  humiliation.  In  the 
first  place,  he  acknowledged  his  sin.  He  began  by 
fearing  God.  "Dost  thou  not  fear  God,  seeing  thou 
art  in  the  same  condemnation,"  he  says,  and  in  these 
words  he  gives  us  to  know  that  he  has  acknowledged 
his  sin.  For  there  is  no  man,  who  feels  and  owns  his 
guilt  without  at  the  same  time  being  sure  of  pardon, 
who  can  do  otherwise  than  stand  in  awe  of  God.  In 
these  days  the  fear  of  God  appears  to  have  van- 
ished from  among  men;  they  possess  no  longer  what 
the  Bible  calls  "the  beginning  of  wisdom."  Nor  is 
it  strange  that  it  should  be  so.  Instead  of  dealing 
with  God  on  account  of  their  sin,  they  are  content  to 
make  up  matters  with  themselves.  If  ye  judge  your- 
selves, and  forgive  yourselves,  arranging  everything 
after  your  own  pleasure,  is  it  to  be  wondered  at,  that 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     255 

ye  do  not  fear  God?  But  in  this,  0  mortals,  ye  are 
seeking  to  encroach  upon  the  rights  of  God,  for  "no 
one  can  forgive  sins,  but  God  alone."  What,  shall 
the  guilty  man  himself  be  his  own  judge?  Ye  mea- 
sure yourselves  by  yourselves,  and  instead  of  looking 
into  the  mirror  of  the  word  of  God,  ye  merely  look 
into  your  own  conscience.  Yes,  if  your  conscience 
had  been  a  bright,  clear  mirror,  polished  by  the  hand 
of  God,  then  it  might  have  been  otherwise.  But  your 
mirror  is  dim,  ye  have  breathed  on  it  the  breath  of 
your  vanity  and  self-love,  and  it  is  not  your  true 
selves  ye  see  reflected  there;  and  then  how  seldom 
and  superficially  do  you  look  at  yourselves  even  there ! 
Or  do  you  imagine  that  it  is  only  the  criminal  in  his 
prison,  and  the  condemned  upon  the  scafi'old,  who 
have  occasion  to  stand  in  awe  of  God.  I  ask  rather, 
who  is  there  but  should  stand  in  awe  of  him,  who  has 
nothing  between  him  and  his  guilty  soul  save  the  tes- 
timony of  an  awakened  conscience?  "Dost  not  thou 
fear  God,  seeing  thou  art  in  the  same  condemnation?" 
— the  question  from  the  dying  thief  is  addressed  to 
the  whole  world  of  sinners,  who  are  lying  in  carnal 
security.  And  because  this  malefactor,  when  he  came 
to  the  knowledge  of  his  sin,  feared  God  and  humbled 
himself  before  him,  all  those  secure  sinners,  who  do 
not  fear  God,  are  to  humble  themselves  even  before 
this  penitent  thief. 

But  after  we  have  felt  our  sins,  what  a  hard  step  it 
is  to  bring  ourselves  to  confess  them.  Honestly  and 
sincerely  to  confess  one's  guilt,  how  hard  is  that  for 
flesh  and  blood.     The  sinner  allows  his  consciousness 


256  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

of  guilt  to  devour  his  spirit  internally,  he  is  ready  to 
submit  to  all  the  acuteness  and  misery  of  that  feeling, 
before  he  will  consent  to  fall  down  before  God,  and 
confess  to  him  his  sin.  Nor  is  this  strange,  for  before 
a  man  can  so  miich  as  come  into  the  presence  of  his 
God  with  the  confession  of  sin  upon  his  lips,  he  must 
first  have  faith.  For  to  come  into  the  presence  of 
God  is  to  pray,  and  how  many  are  there  who  feel  the 
thorn  of  conscience  keenly,  and  who  yet  cannot  pray ! 
And  even  when  all  this  is  done,  what  a  hard  step 
remains  to  be  taken  before  we  can  confess  before  men, 
what  our  actions  really  have  deserved.  You  have  sat 
in  judgment  upon  your  sins,  and  have  pronounced  a 
sentence  of  condemnation  over  them  before  God,  in 
the  secret  of  your  closet;  you  feel  that  this  is  much, 
and  you  would  rather  go  no  further ;  you  would  prefer 
to  retain  some  importance  in  the  eyes  of  your  fellow- 
men,  in  the  world  without.  Humble  yourselves  before 
this  malefactor,  for  behold,  here,  before  the  open  hea- 
ven above  and  the  listening  earth  beneath,  he  cries, 
"We  receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds!"  Or,  is 
it  that  you  regard  this  confession  as  of  small  value, 
because  it  proceeded  from  the  scaffold  and  was  made 
by  a  man  over  whose  head  earthly  justice  was  even 
then  wielding  her  arm,  preparing  to  strike  the  fatal 
blow?  But  do  you  not  know  to  what  a  depth  of 
degradation  a  man  may  fall,  and  yet  all  the  while 
appear,  in  his  own  estimation,  guiltless  and  good? 
And  has  not  even  the  unconverted  criminal  on  the 
scaffold  something  plausible  about  him,  if  not  before 
the  eye  that  seeth  in  secret,  still  in  the  eyes  of  his 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     257 

fellow-men?  To  pronounce  in  any  case,  with  full 
certainty,  that  the  criminal,  whose  head  falls  beneath 
the  axe  of  the  executioner,  is  a  greater  sinner  than  I, 
is  indeed  a  most  responsible  task,  and  one  which  no 
man  who  knows  his  own  heart  will  ever  undertake. 
Do  you  know  with  certainty,  that  among  all  the 
wicked  deeds  and  the  evil  thoughts  of  your  life,  which 
lie  unveiled  only  before  that  eye  which  seeth  in 
secret,  there  is  not  one  which,  weighed  in  the  balance 
of  eternal  justice,  would  not  be  found  more  heavy 
than  that  sin  for  which  that  criminal  sheds  his  blood  ? 
Now  look  further,  at  a  fact,  which  most  infallibly 
demonstrates  that  this  confession  of  the  penitent  thief 
was  a  confession  wrung  from  his  inmost  heart.  It  is 
only,  as  I  before  remarked,  when  we  are  ready  in  our 
inmost  heart  to  bear  the  penalty  of  our  sins,  that  we 
can  be  said  truly  to  be  sensible  of  our  guilt.  When 
the  heart  truly  repents,  it  must  also  with  sincerity 
acknowledge  the  right  God  has  to  use  the  rod.  And 
this  is  the  test  by  which  it  may  be  known,  whether 
your  confession  is  a  matter  of  mere  words  or  not. 
"TFe  receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds,''  cried  the 
thief  on  the  cross.  His  back  had  been  torn  with 
scourges,  his  body  hung  stretched  upon  the  cross,  and 
blood  fell  from  his  hands  and  feet ;  still  he  could  say, 
"We  receive  the  due  reward  of  our  deeds."  This  is 
to  repent,  not  merely  with  the  lips,  but  in  the  very 
depths  of  a  man's  being;  this  is  to  repent  when  the 
penitent  feels  that  punishment  itself  is  sweet,  because 
he  is  so  deeply  sensible  of  what  sin  deserves.  Ay, 
and  if  even  the  very  flames  of  eternal  fire  had  con- 


258  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

sumed  him,  I  think  a  sinner  like  this,  who,  when  sub- 
jected to  the  fierce  pain  and  agonj  of  the  cross,  could 
utter  such  words  as  these,  would  even  in  these  flames 
have  exclaimed,  "Judge,  I  have  received  mj  due." 
And  therefore  I  say  to  all  of  you,  who  confess 
yourselves  to  be  debtors  before  God,  and  who,  not- 
withstanding, at  every  stroke  of  the  rod,  exclaim, 
''Lord,  wherefore  this  to  meV — humble  yourself,  I 
say,  in  the  presence  of  the  crucified  thief,  for  your 
repentance  has  not  yet  like  his  penetrated  into  the 
remotest  depths  of  your  soul. 

Thus  his  'penitence  humbles  us.  Further,  we  have 
ground  deeply  to  humble  ourselves,  in  the  contempla- 
tion of  his /a^^7i.  ''But  this  man  hath  done  nothing 
amiss,''  In  these  words  he  acknowledges,  in  the  first 
instance,  the  holy  innocence  of  Christ,  and  he  does 
so  before  the  world.  And  whence  did  he  know  that 
Christ  was  innocent?  He  had  neither  heard  him 
speak,  nor  seen  him  work;  he  had  seen  nothing  of 
him  but  his  sufferings.  How  then  did  he  know  that 
of  which  the  thousands  who  were  raging  round  the 
cross  knew  nothing  ?  Was  he,  then,  able  to  recognize 
in  the  features  of  that  countenance  crowned  with 
thorns,  which  was  bleeding  by  him,  the  holy  soul  that 
was  still  reflected  there?  And  did  he  not  let  himself 
be  deceived,  when  those  thousands,  with  the  priests  at 
their  head,  cried,  ''This  man  hath  blasphemed  God, 
and  is  worthy  of  death"?  Truly  we  must  humble 
ourselves  in  this  man's  presence,  although  he  was  a 
malefactor;  for  how  many  of  you,  I  ask,  would  have 
thus  recognized  the.  Holy  One  of  God  in  the  form  of 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  259 

a  servant  and  in  the  deepest  abasement.  May  we 
not  say,  there  is  a  certain  nobility  of  soul  manifested 
in  the  fact,  that  in  the  innocence  of  these  sufferings 
he  discerns  the  innocence  of  the  whole  life  which  pre- 
ceded them  ?  Already  in  this  his  faith  is  great ;  but 
there  is  more  than  this.  He  believes  not  merely  in 
the  holy  innocence  of  Christ;  no,  in  that  brow 
crowned  with  thorns,  and  covered  with  blood — in  that 
head  laden  with  insult  and  with  shame,  with  the  eye 
of  faith  he  sees  a  royal  majesty — the  majesty  of  a 
King,  who  in  his  pierced  hand  yet  holds  the  keys  of 
paradise:  "Lord,  remember  me  when  thou  comest 
into  thy  kingdom."  See  here  what  a  true  faith 
means.  Faith  is  the  wing  of  the  soul,  by  which  she 
wings  her  way  far  above  and  beyond  what  is  seen, 
into  the  regions  of  the  invisible.  Faith  is  the  eye  of 
the  soul,  which  sees  majesty  where  the  eye  of  the 
flesh  sees  only  shame — which  sees  light  where  the 
other  sees  only  darkness — which  recognizes  life  where 
the  other  perceives  only  death — and  which  in  him, 
who,  to  the  eye  of  flesh  is  nothing  more  than  a  con- 
demned malefactor,  owns  and  worships  the  King  of 
heaven. 

Such  is  the  eye  of  faith,  and  that  eye  of  faith  the 
dying  thief  possessed.  Brethren,  would  not  penitence 
and  faith  like  these  make  that  man  precious  in  the 
sight  of  God?  Thus  to  repent,  and  thus  to  believe, 
is  no  vain  idea;  it  is  a  power  of  God,  such  as  is  capa- 
ble of  creating  a  new  man,  of  which  it  may  with  truth 
be  said,  "Old  things  are  passed  away,  behold,  all 
things   are   become   new."      For   the   new    birth   is 


260  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

nothing  else  than  thus  to  repent  and  thus  to  believe. 
Yes,  a  child  was  born  there  into  the  kingdom  of  God 
— the  gloomy  cross  was  his  cradle — and  the  great, 
wide  eternity  became  the  scene  of  his  expansion  and 
his  growth.  The  spring  of  the  new  life  which  was 
then  poured  into  his  soul,  shall  be  throughout  eternity 
a  well  of  living  water  springing  up  into  everlasting 
life. 

A  dying  thief  to  life  is  born, 

His  cross  a  cradle  proves: 
So  mighty  ev'n  in  death  His  grace 

Who  dearly  sinners  loves. 

For  He  now  hanging  by  his  side 

Is  sovereign  of  the  skies ; 
For  him  the  Crucified  unlocks 

The  gates  of  paradise. 

See,  all  around  the  tree  of  shame, 

Attendant  angels  wait. 
To  bear  to  heaven  that  ransomed  soul, 

Returned  to  God  so  late. 

That  through  eternal  years  of  bliss, 

In  the  light  of  God  on  high, 
His  new-born  spirit  may  expand 

Beneath  his  Saviour's  eye. 

In  this  instance  of  the  deliverance  of  a  sinner  in  the 
eleventh  hour,  is  it  intended  to  lull  to  sleep  the  care- 
less and  the  secure  ?  Is  it  recorded  in  order  to  admin- 
ister the  balm  of  consolation  to  those  who  indulge  in 
the  idle  dream  that,  after  they  have  tasted  all  the  joys 
that  life  can  give,  they  will  be  reconciled  to  their  God 
with  the  last  sigh  of  their  vicious  breast?  It  might 
be  so  if,  in  the  case  before  us,  there  was  nothing  more 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  261 

than  the  last  sigh  of  a  vicious  breast.  But  here  there 
is  something  more ;  there  is  a  new  heart  here,  a  new 
birth.  And  if  you  would  first  take  your  pleasure  in 
the  world,  and  afterwards  make  your  peace  with  God 
— if  you  can  with  certainty  know  that,  in  the  last 
evening  twilight  of  your  days,  that  lies  between  the 
noon-day  glare  and  glitter  of  your  worldly  life  and 
the  stern  night  of  judgment  that  is  to  ensue,  you  will 
even  then,  by  a  similar  penitence  and  faith,  become 
new  men — then  you  may  go  on  in  sin,  and  live  your 
fleeting  life  between  heaven  and  earth  with  as  much 
unconcern  as  if  there  were  no  death  at  its  close !  But 
I  testify  to  you  that  he  who,  when  the  words,  "  To- 
day, to-day  if  ye  will  hear  my  voice!"  sound  in  his 
ear,  will  not  hear^  will  never  more  be  able  to  repent 
and  believe,  even  if  he  would.  That  insolent  levity 
which  purposely  puts  off  the  day  of  repentance,  think 
you  that  it  can  repent  when  it  chooses  ?  It  cannot ; 
for  every  conscious  and  intentional  delay  is  a  barrier 
in  the  way  of  repentance ;  and  the  more  barriers  there 
are  in  the  way,  the  more  certainly  is  an  hour  approach- 
ing when  it  shall  be  said.  It  is  too  late  ! 

This  day,  this  very  day,  God  has  called  you.  Ye 
proud  spirits,  ye  hearts  in  carnal  security,  this  day 
God  hath  called  you.  Let  whoever  hears  his  voice 
humble  himself  before  him  now ;  for  every  delay  is  a 
barrier  in  the  way  of  repentance;  and  the  more  bar- 
riers in  the  way,  the  more  certainly  is  an  hour  ap- 
proaching when  it  shall  be  said.  It  is  too  late  ! 

0  Lord,  we  would  fain  be  where  thou  art,  where 
thou  art  now  with  the  penitent  thief;  and  as  we  know 
23 


262  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

not  liow  soon  our  last  hour  may  come,  and  whetlier 
then,  in  the  death-struggles  of  the  parting  spirit, 
there  will  be  a  gate  of  mercy  thrown  open  to  us, 
help  us  to  repent,  help  us  to  believe,  before  that  last 
hour  draws  near !     Amen. 


SERMON   X. 

THE  FILIAL  LOVE  OF  JESUS:  " JESUS  SAITH  UNTO  HIS  MOTHER, 
WOMAN,  BEHOLD  THY  SON  I  THEN  SAITH  HE  TO  THE  DISCIPLE, 
BEHOLD   THY    MOEHEr!" 

John  xix.  25-27. — Now  there  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus,  his  mother, 
and  his  mother's  sister,  Mary  the  wife  of  Cleophas,  and  Mary 
Magdalene.  "When  Jesus  therefore  saw  his  mother,  and  the 
disciple  standing  by,  whom  he  loved,  he  saith  unto  his  mother. 
Woman,  behold  thy  son!  Then  saith  he  to  the  disciple.  Behold 
thy  mother !  And  from  that  hour  that  disciple  took  her  unto  his 
own  home. 

Beloved  in  Christ: — You  have  listened  to  a  word  of 
forgiveness  fc«m  the  mouth  of  your  Saviour,  and  have 
heard  him  speak  as  a  priest;  you  have  listened  to  a 
word  of  majesty,  when  he  opened  from  the  cross  the 
gate  of  paradise,  and  there  heard  him  speak  as  a 
king;  listen  to-day  to  a  word  of  love  which  he  spoke 
as  a  human  son  to  a  human  mother.  Some  time 
might  have  elapsed  since  he  had  uttered  these  royal 
words  about  his  kingdom  of  paradise,  when,  looking 
down,  his  eye  fell  upon  the  women  and  the  disciple 
whom  he  loved,  standing  by.  They  had — the  former 
doubtless,  protected  by  their  sex,  and  the  latter  as  a 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  263 

friend  of  the  high-priest — succeeded  in  gaining  access 
to  the  cross,  near  enough  to  hear  the  words  of  their 
dying  Lord.  It  was  for  those  loving  spirits,  but  espe- 
cially for  the  mother's,  a  proximity  most  dear  and 
valued;  but,  at  the  same  time,  most  painful.  Then 
it  was,  truly,  that  that  mother's  heart  was  to  experi- 
ence the  fulfilment  of  the  word  of  prophecy,  which 
had  been  spoken  to  her  some  three  and  thirty  years 
before,  in  the  days  when  she  could  yet  press  to  her 
bosom  the  smiling  countenance  of  the  infant  Redeemer. 
The  aged  Simeon  had  foretold  to  her,  "  A  sword  shall 
pierce  through  thine  own  soul  also."  Ah!  now, 
indeed,  a  sword  pierced  her  soul,  as  she  saw  the  Son 
of  so  many  joys  and  so  many  sorrows  hang  drooping 
and  dying  on  the  cross.  His  arms  were  stretched 
out,  and  none  could  relieve  their  pain ;  his  lips  were 
parched,  and  none  could  refresh  them;  his  wounds 
were  bleeding,  but  none  of  those  he  loved  could  draw 
near  to  bind  them  up.  Then  it  was  that  the  filial 
love  of  Jesus  was  displayed,  and  it  is  this  that  will 
this  day  form  the  subject  of  our  discourse.  Listen  to 
the  words  of  our  text  in  John  xix.  25-27:  '^Now 
there  stood  hy  the  cross  of  Jesus,  his  mother  and  his 
mother's  sister,  Mary  the  ivife  of  Cleophas,  and 
Mary  3Iagdalene.  When  Jesus  therefore  saw  his 
mother,  and  the  disciple  standing  hy,  whom  he  loved, 
he  saith  unto  his  mother.  Woman,  behold  thy  son! 
Then  saith  he  to  the  disciple,  Behold  thy  mother! 
And  from  that  hour  that  disciple  took  her  unto  his 
own  home,'" 

Is  it  possible  to  read  these  words  without  exclaim- 


264  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

ing,  What  a  touching  incident  is  here  recorded  of  our 
Lord !  and  what  a  powerful  lesson  it  teaches  us  !  Let 
us  lay  to  heart  both  these  considerations. 

What  a  touching  incident  of  our  Lord!  How  sur- 
prising is  the  strength  of  filial  love  in  our  Lord  which 
it  displays,  how  great  the  tenderness  of  that  love. 
How  surprising  is  its  strength!  One  cannot  easily 
realize  to  one's  self,  that  the  heart  of  this  Son  of  God 
beat  so  truly  to  his  earthly  mother,  as  the  hearts  of 
the  other  children  of  men  are  wont  to  beat.  Thou 
only-begotten  Son  of  God,  who  didst  lie  in  the  bosom 
of  thy  Heavenly  Father,  can  it  be  that  the  breast  of 
thy  earthly  mother  had  for  thee  the  significance  it  has 
for  other  poor  children  of  earth?  In  all  other  re- 
spects, at  least,  he  was  ever  so  free  from  the  influence 
of  earthly  ties.  No  conjugal  bonds  were  there  to  fet- 
ter him ;  no  heart  that  could  claim  him  as  exclusively 
its  own,  and  could  say  to  him.  Thou  art  mine.  No 
children,  except  those  born  of  his  Spirit,  could  stretch 
out  their  hands  to  him.  And  all  his  natural  relation- 
ships were  in  him  made  so  entirely  subordinate  to  the 
spiritual.  The  man  who  would  first  bury  his  father 
before  following  him,  received  the  command,  "Let 
the  dead  bury  their  dead,  but  go  thou  and  preach  the 
kingdom  of  God."  Once,  when  a  certain  mother, 
overcome  by  the  power  of  his  discourse,  burst  into  the 
exclamation,  "Blessed  is  the  womb  that  bare  thee, 
and  the  breasts  that  gave  thee  suck,"  he  answered, 
"  Rather,  blessed  are  they  that  hear  the  word  of  God, 
and  keep  it."  "Who  is  my  father  and  my  mother? 
Whosoever  doeth  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven." 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  265 

After  all  this,  one  is  surprised  at  the  exhibition  of  his 
filial  love  which  meets  us  here,  showing  how  sacredly 
he  regarded  those  fleshly  ties  which  he  had.  That  in 
such  moments  as  these  he  should  have  thought  of  his 
earthly  mother!  Think  what  sufierings  body  and 
spirit  were  in  these  moments  undergoing.  The  wounds 
on  his  lacerated  back  were  still  smarting  with  pain, 
and  blood  flowed  from  the  marks  of  the  nails  and  the 
thorny  crown;  from  his  extended  limbs,  the  blood 
was  driven  back  upon  the  oppressed  heart,  and  his 
parched  tongue  was  cleaving  to  the  roof  of  his  mouth. 
And  yet,  under  similar  physical  sufi'erings,  other  men 
have  thought  of  the  ties  of  nature.  Therefore,  what 
surprises  us  is,  not  that  amid  the  burning  of  his 
wounds  and  the  anguish  of  his  broken  heart,  he  should 
not  have  thought  exclusively  on  himself,  but  also  on 
her  that  bore  him.  And  then,  from  first  to  last,  his 
love  was  a  self-forgetting  love,  even  upon  the  cross ; 
his  love  was  to  the  very  last  a  Saviour's  love.  Instead 
of  thinking  of  his  own  sufferings,  he  thought  of  the 
guilt  of  others.  But  what  is  surprising  to  us,  what 
reveals  to  us  the  depth  of  his  filial  love,  is  this,  that 
after  he  had  been  filled  with  thoughts  suitable  to  his 
character  as  a  Saviour,  after  he  had  prayed  for  his 
people  as  a  merciful  high-priest,  and,  as  a  king,  had 
opened  paradise  to  a  penitent  sinner,  he  now — all 
priestly  and  kingly  thoughts  apart — feels  as  a  son, 
and  provides  for  his  weeping  mother,  and  opens  to  her 
his  heart.  Yes,  that  does  surprise  us,  and  discloses 
to  us  how  strong  his  love  to  his  mother  was ;  it  brings 
him,  as  man,  so  near  to  us.  Mark,  at  the  same  time, 
23* 


266  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

the  tenderness  of  that  love.  The  dying  Son  makes 
his  will  for  his  mother.  What  possession  will  he  leave 
her  ?  What  of  earthly  goods  he  could  call  his  own  was 
at  any  time  but  little,  and  even  that  little  was  his  now 
no  longer ;  at  his  death  it  became  the  property  of  the 
men  who  carried  into  execution  the  sentence  of  death, 
and  they  had  even  then  been  casting  lots  over  it  be- 
neath his  cross.  Yet,  had  he  wished  to  bequeath  to 
her  money  or  property,  he  might  easily  have  done  so, 
for  all  that  his  followers,  such  as  Mary  and  Martha, 
Salome,  or  Peter,  had,  he  might  truly  have  called  his 
own ;  they  who  had  given  themselves  to  him,  had  they 
not  also  willingly  placed  at  his  disposal  all  that  they 
possessed  ?  But  he  will  not  leave  her  goods  or  wealth ; 
he  has  no  silver  and  gold,  but  such  as  he  has  he  will 
leave  her,  and  he  has  something  more  precious  than 
gold  or  silver.  He  will  bequeath  to  her  a  heart,  the 
human  heart  which  is  next  his  own ;  and  wherefore  is 
that  heart  next  his  own  ?  because  it  best  understands 
what  love  is.  See  here  another  proof  that  John  well 
knew  the  nature  of  love.  How  short  is  the  "Saviour's 
testament!"  "Woman,  behold  thy  son — behold  thy 
mother."  John  requires  no  more  than  this,  Mary 
requires  no  more,  "  Woman,  behold  thy  son — behold 
thy  mother,"  and  with  this  a  glance  of  mutual  under- 
standing passes  between  the  two,  and  they  are  satis- 
fied. The  son  understands  the  mother,  the  mother 
understands  the  son.  May  we  not  conclude  from  this, 
that  those  two  hearts  were  well  suited  to  each  other ; 
and  does  not  the  idea  make  us  feel  that  the  love  of 
the  dying  Son  was  as  tender  as  it  was  strong  ?  Doubt- 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  267 

less,  in  this  the  Saviour  was  making  provision  for 
Mary's  earthly  wants.  The  father  of  John  cannot 
have  been  a  poor  man ;  we  read  of  his  having  hired 
servants  in  his  pay ;  he  possessed  a  house  of  his  own  at 
Bethsaida ;  possibly  also  one  in  Jerusalem,  for  we  read, 
"from  that  hour  he  took  her  unto  his  own  home," 
which  we  know  was  from  this  time  forward  in  Jerusa- 
lem, And  thus  the  disciple  maintained  her,  provided 
for  her ;  and  thus  he  watched  over  her  when  she  came 
to  lie  upon  her  last  bed  of  sicknes.  A  tradition  re- 
lates, that  John  would  never  forsake  the  dear  trust 
which  his  dying  Saviour  had  committed  to  his  care, 
that  accordingly  he  never  went  beyond  the  bounda- 
ries of  Palestine,  until  the  mother  of  the  Lord,  had, 
in  his  arms,  breathed  her  last.  But  it  was  not 
surely  for  the  sake  of  this  earthly  support  and  care 
alone,  that  Jesus  confided  his  mother  to  the  disci- 
ple whom  he  loved.  Had  his  intention  been  only 
to  make  provision  for  those,  he  could  equally  well 
have  left  her  to  the  care  of  her  natural  protectors, 
to  his  four  brothers  and  his  sisters.  True,  the  brothers 
were  not  at  that  time  believers,  but  they  were  soon 
to  become  so,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  very  next 
Sabbath-day,  the  bud  of  their  faith  would  come  to  the 
blossom.  We  read  in  Paul,  that  the  risen  Lord  once 
appeared  alone  to  his  brother  James.  (1  Cor.  xv.  7.) 
What  passed  between  these  two,  on  that  occasion,  we 
are  not  informed;  but  certain  it  is,  that  must  have 
been  a  turning-point  in  the  life  of  the  brother,  for  we 
subsequently  find  him,  along  with  his  brethren,  in 
company  with  the  apostles.     Why  then,  if  it  was  only 


268  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

her  physical  comfort  that  he  thought  of,  did  the  Lord 
not  commit  his  mother  to  the  care  of  James?  Be- 
cause he  wished  to  leave  her  a  heart  that  could  per- 
fectly understand  her ;  and  you  need  not  be  informed 
that  relations,  even  believing  relations,  are  not  always 
those  who  can  best  -do  this.  I  have  formerly  shown 
you,  from  the  Bible,  of  what  a  tender  virgin  spirit  the 
mother  of  our  Lord  was.  And  on  this  account  she 
needed  a  tender  spirit  to  understand  her.  Now, 
could  the  Lord  have  pointed  to  one  among  them  all 
of  a  nature  more  tender  than  was  his,  who  was  called 
in  the  ancient  church,  by  preeminence,  the  man  of 
virgin-soul?  Beneath  the  cross,  one  single  glance 
sufficed  to  show  that  they  understood  each  t)ther,  and 
doubtless  from  that  time  they  went  on  knowing  each 
other  ever  better.  Moreover,  this  disciple  was  best 
qualified  to  tend  and  nourish  the  spiritual  life  of  the 
mother  of  the  Lord.  In  a  word,  could  the  dying 
Redeemer  have  provided  for  his  mother  with  greater 
tenderness,  with  more  thoughtful  love,  than  when  he 
wished  that  she  should  rest  her  grey  hairs  on  that 
breast  which  had  often  leant  on  his  own ! 

Yes,  it  is  a  touching  incident  here  recorded  of  our 
Lord ;  and  at  the  same  time  it  reads  a  most  Jmmhling 
lesson  to  us.  Do  you  understand,  beloved,  what  in 
these  words  the  dying  Son  of  God  and  of  Man  pro- 
claims to  us  from  the  cross?  Little  children,  so  he 
addresses  us,  be  strong  in  your  love  to  your  relations, 
and  in  your  love  be  forgetful  of  yourselves !  Little 
children,  be  strong  in  your  love  to  your  relations,  and 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  269 

in  your  love  be  wise  to  ponder  what  is  most  for  their 
good ! 

Little  children^  he  strong  in  your  love  to  your  rela- 
tions^ and  in  your  love  forget  yourselves.     Such  is 
the  first  command  that  the  Lord  addresses  to  us  from 
th'fe   cross  in  the  words   of  our  text.     Now,   what  is 
it  that  makes  love  strong?     I  answer,  it  is  self-for- 
getfulness.     What   makes  it  weak?     I  answer,  it  is 
balancing  and   weighing  everything,  it  is  measuring 
everything  by  rule  and  square,  it  is  for  ever  separating 
and  distinguishing  between  the  mine  and  the  thine,  it 
is  this  that  makes  love  weak.     For  it  is  with  love  just 
as  it  is  with  faith.     Whenever  faith  begins  to  be  sus- 
picious and  to  inquire,  is  it  so,  or  is  it  not  ?  then  the 
power  of  faith  is  broken.     And  whenever  love  begins 
to  put  such  questions  as,  ought  I?  may  I?  must  I? 
then  the  power  of  love  is  broken.     At  any  rate  a  true 
love,  if  it  take  such  questions  as  these  into  considera- 
tion at  all,  after  it  has  gone  through  them,  and  has  by 
them  become  purified  as  well  as  strengthened,  has 
done  with  them,  and  is  once  more  an  immediate,  spon- 
taneous feeling  in  the  breast.     The  waves  of  love  must 
flow  from  the  heart  clear  and  strong,  as  the  waves  of 
the  stream  flow  out  of  the  rocky  mountain  side.    Thus 
spontaneous,  unimpeded,  self -for getting  was  the  Sa- 
viour's love,  thus  it  was  even  to  his  last  hour  of  sufi'er- 
ing.     My  brethren,  love  is  at  any  time  strong  only 
then  when  one  can  forget  himself,  in  order  to  think 
only  on  the  object  of  his  love.     The  love  of  that  man 
is  feeble  who,  in  loving  others,   still  thinks  a  great 
deal  about  himself,   who  is   always  calculating  and 


270-  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

making  minute  distinctions  between  mine  and  thine. 
When  at  the  last  supper  Christ  sat  down  with  his 
disciples,  one  might  have  expected  that  in  the  view  of 
the  approaching  hours  of  sorrow  he  would  be  entirely 
occupied  with  his  own  thoughts.  But  how  different 
was  the  case.  In  that  moment  all  his  thought  and  care 
were  for  his  own,  how  he  should  comfort  them,  how 
he  should  strengthen  them,  so  that  even  John,  who 
knew  his  Master  so  well,  is  struck  with  it,  and  writes 
with  wonder,  "  Having  loved  his  own  which  were  in 
the  world,  he  loved  them  unto  the  end,''  This  self- 
forgetful  love  he  retained  in  the  darkness  of  death, 
ay,  even  until  he  bowed  his  head  and  gave  up  the 
ghost.  He  knew  the  rare  art  well  of  forgetting  his 
own  suffering  in  the  thought  of  the  distress  of  others. 
Which  of  us  has  learned  that  art  ?  We  calculate  and 
distinguish  between  what  is  ours  and  what  our  neigh- 
bour's. We  do  so  even  when  God  has  given  us  a 
light  and  happy  heart,  while  to  others  he  has  allotted 
sorrow,  when  we  could  well  afford  to  take  upon  our- 
selves part  of  our  neighbour's  burden.  But  when  our 
own  heart  is  oppressed  with  sorrow,  how  few  of  us 
would  then  preserve  a  heart  so  large  and  wide  that  he 
could  forget  himself,  and  find  a  place  in  his  sympathy 
for  his  neighbour's  affliction?  Sorrow-laden  Chris- 
tians, are  you  sufficiently  mindful  of  the  fact,  that 
affliction  has  a  tendency  to  make  people  egotistical 
and  self-absorbed  ?  Ye  who  have  a  cross  of  care  to 
bear,  do  you  not  perceive,  that  to  be  exclusively 
engrossed  with  one's  own  peculiar  grief,  narrows  the 
heart  so  that  it  becomes  incapable  of  taking  up  into 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  271 

its  sympathy  the  woes  of  others.  0  be  strong  in  the 
love  of  Jesus,  and  learn  to  forget  your  own  distress  in 
that  of  others.  At  all  events,  the  affliction  of  your 
relations,  of  those  who  are  your  own  flesh  and  blood, 
ought  not  surely  to  be  foreign  to  your  deepest  sympa- 
thies ;  you  ought  to  think  of  it  as  your  own.  Children, 
how  often  have  your  father  and  mother  forgotten  their 
own  joy  and  sorrow  in  their  sympathy  with  your 
sorrow;  and  have  you  not  strength  enough  to  forget 
yourselves  in  the  sorrow  of  your  parents?  Yea,  all 
of  you,  learn  to  bury  and  forget  your  own  griefs  and 
Bufferings  in  the  griefs  and  sufferings  of  others.  You 
will  do  so  to  your  own  advantage.  For  he  who  seeks 
to  bind  up  the  wounds  of  others,  lays  in  the  very  act 
a  balm  upon  his  own,  and  soft  and  gentle  flow  the. 
tears  of  him  who  himself  dries  the  tears  from  a  bro- 
ther's eye!  Well  do  those  widows  know  this,  and 
those  childless  parents  who,  because  they  must  stand 
alone  in  the  world,  having  no  one  to  dry  their  own 
eyes,  and  sooth  their  own  sorrow,  have  made  it  the 
work  of  their  life  to  minister  the  balm  of  consolation 
to  their  fellow-men,  and  wipe  away  their  tears.  Chris- 
tians, there  is  no  nobler  way  of  ridding  yourselves  of 
the  burden  of  your  sorrow,  than  by  burying  and  for- 
getting it  in  the  griefs  of  others!  0  thou  noble, 
blessed  model  of  self-forgetting  love,  thou  who  art 
come  into  the  world,  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to 
minister ;  thee  will  we  gaze  on,  thee  will  we  love,  until 
we  learn  to  love  our  relations  with  a  love  which,  in  its 
solicitude  for  them,  forgets  its  own  affliction ! 

But  I  go  even  farther.     It  was  not  only  his  own 


272  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

sufferings  that  the  Saviour  forgot ;  no,  he  forgot,  if  I 
may  so  express  myself,  his  own  most  peculiar  work,  that 
work  of  a  Saviour,  which  concerned  the  whole  world; 
even  in  that  work  he  paused  a  moment,  that  he  might 
dry  the  tears  of  his  afflicted  mother.  It  is  admitted 
by  all,  that  it  is  a  selfish  and  egotistical  thing  for  a 
man  to  bury  and  entomb  himself  in  his  own  sorrow. 
But  there  is  one  point  on  which  it  is  very  easy  for 
people  to  deceive  themselves.  Our  business  and  our 
calling  are  God's,  and  when  engaged  in  it,  we  are  doing 
God's  work.  How  then  can  we  leave  off  doing  God's 
work  to  go  and  minister  relief  to  the  afflicted  ?  But 
people  may  give  themselves  too  much  concern  about 
this  very  work  of  God.  Have  there  not  been  many 
who  have  come  forward  as  helpers  of  others  in  distress, 
whose  own  wives  and  children  were  at  the  very  time 
eating  their  bread  of  tears  at  home? — many  who 
required  so  much  time  and  strength  to  discharge  their 
duties  as  officers,  as  men  of  science,  as  students,  that 
they  had  none  left  to  fulfil  those  of  their  calling  as 
fathers,  children,  husbands,  friends?  0,  let  us  never 
forget  it,  our  very  first  duty  and  calling  upon  earth  is 
this — to  become  men  well  pleasing  to  God.  That  of 
which  we  speak  may  be  done  with  a  good  conscience, 
and,  for  all  that,  we  must  say  the  good  conscience  is 
an  erring  one.  Do  we  not  read,  "  He  that  is  unright- 
eous in  the  least,  is  unrighteous  also  in  the  greatest. 
If  any  man  provide  not  for  his  own  house,  he  hath, 
denied  the  faith,  and  is  worse  than  an  infidel"?  If 
he,  who  had  the  greatest  of  all  works  to  do  upon  the 
earth,  if  the  Saviour  in  the  hour  of  death,  when  he 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  273 

bore  upon  his  heart  the  sins  of  a  world,  if  even  he, 
while  he  discharged  the  one  awful  duty,  did  not  leave 
undone  the  other;  and  if  in  a  heart  which  the  con- 
cern of  a  Saviour  for  a  ruined  world  oppressed,  room 
was  yet  found  for  the  concern  of  a  Son  for  his  weep- 
ing mother,  0  how  much  more  should  this  be  true 
of  us! 

And  the  other  command  which  the  Lord  addresses 
to  us  from  the  cross  is  this,  Little  children,  let  your 
love  for  your  relations  he  strong  in  devisiiig  what  is 
most  for  their  good. 

Every  one,  my  brethren,  has  his  own  particular  side 
from  which  the  road  to  the  heart  lies,  and  by  this  way 
he  must  be  approached  by  any  one  who  wishes  to  show 
him  some  kindness.  And  therefore  it  is,  that  true 
love  is  impossible  without  going  out  of  one's  self;  for 
if  thou  livest  and  hast  thy  being  only  in  thyself,  and 
not  in  others,  how  canst  thou  discover  the  particular 
side  from  which  the  way  into  the  heart  of  others  lies. 
This  quality  of  love  by  which  it  enables  us  to  place 
ourselves  in  the  position  of  others ;  which  seeks  to  do 
good  to  one  in  his  own  way,  and  not  in  our  own  way ; 
which  makes  us  realize  his  feelings,  and  anticipate  his 
wishes,  this  we  call,  in  social  life,  delicate  attention; 
and  in  no  way  can  one  so  speedily  eifect  the  conquest 
of  the  hearts  of  others,  as  just  by  studying  them  thus, 
and  meeting  their  desires.  Unfortunately,  consider- 
ation for  the  feelings  of  others  and  attentiveness  to 
their  wishes  is  often  factitious  and  put-on.  Often  it 
has  no  foundation  in  truth  of  nature,  and  is  of  no 
longer  duration  than  the  social  circle  of  an  evening 
24 


274  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

party;  witli  the  extinction  of  its  lights  the  fair  stars 
of  all  these  beautiful  words  and  kindnesses  are  extin- 
guishedHoo.  Alas  for  the  many  falsehoods  which  go 
to  make  up  our  social  life !  But  this  falsehood  is  a 
reflection,  shining  back  indeed  from  a  burnished  and 
mere  earthly  metal,  of  a  real  virtue ;  it  is  the  shadow, 
dark  with  mere  earthly  darkness,  of  that  delicate  con- 
sideration for  others  which  is  the  root  and  essence  of 
true  politeness.  Now,  in  the  words  of  our  Lord  which 
we  have  before  us,  do  we  not  find  this  delicate  con- 
siderateness  of  love  in  its  true  form,  set  forth  in  a 
manner  most  attractive,  and  at  the  same  time  to  us 
most  reproving?  Did  we  but  know  how  the  Saviour 
was  wont  to  deal  with  those  with  whom  he  held  inter- 
course, with  each  of  his  disciples  severally,  with  his 
mother  and  the  members  of  his  family,  we  should  then 
see  how,  by  ways  adapted  to  the  several  cases  of  each, 
he  went  to  seek  them  with  his  ministering  love,  how 
he  educated  them  for  himself,  how  he  drew  them  to 
himself.  And  thus  it  is  he  deals  with  men  still,  as, 
bending  down  from  heaven,  he  leads  his  own  and  pre- 
pares them  for  himself.  "I  am  the  good  Shepherd," 
says  Jesus,  "and  know  my  sheep."  He  calleth  his 
own  sheep  by  name  and  leadeth  them  out.  Has  not 
the  divine  power  of  his  doctrine  laid  hold  on  each  of 
us  from  his  own  peculiar  side,  and  has  not  the  divine 
beauty  of  his  form  disclosed  to  each  a  peculiar  attrac- 
tion? Yes,  he  knows  us  by  name,  and  he  leads  us 
according  as  the  peculiar  necessities  of  each  require. 
Tell  me,  ye  who  know  him,  is  it. not  thus  that  he  has 
dealt  with  you  ? 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  275 

Beloved  in  Christ,  ye  men — ye  women — ye  youths, 
he  has  left  us  all  an  example  that  we  should  follow 
his  footsteps,  an  example  which,  in  all  our  dealings 
with  those  we  love,  we  should  keep. before  our  eye. 
Let  us  love  those  who  belong  to  us  with  that  consider- 
ate and  thoughtful  love  which  discovers  and  provides 
for  every  one  what  is  best  suited  for  his  peculiar  case. 
We  must  go  more  out  of  ourselves  than  we  do,  we 
must  go  deeper  into  the  feelings  of  those  with  whom 
God  has  bound  us  in  the  ties  of  nature,  in  order  that 
we  may  learn  more  fully  to  understand  what  each 
wants,  what  would  give  them  joy.  The  apostle  says, 
*'  Let  not  every  one  mind  his  own  things,  but  each 
one  also  the  things  of  others."  We  all  look  too  much 
to  our  own  things,  are  too  much  lost  in  our  own  sor- 
rows, interests,  and  wants,  and  live  too  little  in  that 
which  concerns  others;  hence  we  understand  far  too 
little  the  men  with  whom  we  associate,  and  it  is  be- 
cause we  do  not  properly  understand  them,  that  there 
is  so  little  delicacy  and  consideration  in  our  love. 

Hence  it  is,  moreover,  that  we  do  not  keep  before 
us  as  we  ought,  that  benefit  which,  of  all  others,  is  the 
best  and  most  profitable  for  them — hence  it  is,  that 
we  leave  so  much  out  of  account,  the  wants  of  their 
immortal  natures.  As  certain  as  that  word  is  true, 
"What  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  gain  the  whole  world 
if  he  lose  his  own  soul,"  so  certain  is  it  that  no  greater 
blessing  can  be  conferred  by  any  man  upon  a  relation, 
than  when  he  takes  into  consideration,  and  seeks  to 
provide  for,  his  spiritual  necessities.  And  did  not  on 
this  account  the  Saviour  think,  even  in  death,  of  the 


276  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

spiritual  necessities  of  his  mother,  and  in  his  tender 
solicitude  provide  for  them? 

It  is  a  sign  of  the  tenderness  of  your  love  that  you  • 
should  seek  at  all  to  supply  the  spiritual  wants  of 
those  that  helong  to  you,  but  further,  in  doing  so,  you 
must  act  with  tenderness.  Mere  violent  declamation, 
mere  sermonizing  will  not  gain  your  object.  At  the 
same  time,  to  sit  down  with  folded  arms  and  idly  wait 
till  God  converts  the  heart,  will  as  little  avail.  In 
the  first  place,  you  must  gain  over  hearts  by  deeds, 
before  you  attempt  to  win  them  by  words.  That  is 
done  by  tender,  ministering  love.  Beloved,  such  a 
tender,  ministering,  self-forgetful  love,  a  love  which 
goes  entirely  out  of  itself,  and  out  towards  others, 
such  a  love  has  in  it  something  so  unearthly,  so 
heavenly,  that  the  heart  must  be  of  stone  indeed 
which  it  fails  to  touch.  Would  you  that  men  would 
lend  a  willing  and  attentive  ear  to  your  exhortations, 
0,  then,  see  to  it,  in  the  first  place,  that  you  succeed 
in  taking  possession  of  their  hearts,  and  making  them 
your  own :  and  a  love  like  this  conquers  hearts.  This 
is  a  sermon  such  as  the  least  eloquent  among  you  may 
preach,  even  though  he  can  urge  no  other  testimony 
in  favour  of  the  truth  of  his  cause;  by  this  means 
many  a  Christian  woman  has  exercised  a  greater  and 
a  deeper  influence  in  the  world  on  behalf  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  than  many  settled  clergymen.  Even 
that  trumpet  of  God,  the  apostle  Paul,  who  knew 
better  than  any  other  the  power  of  the  preaching  of 
the  word,  even  he  made  use  of  this  tender  ministering 
love,  and  by  it  preached  to  his  churches,  for  did  he 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  277 

not  refuse  all  their  gifts,  preferring  to  carry  on  a 
humble  trade  by  night,  that  during  the  day  he  might, 
without  hinderance,  make  known  to  them  the  gospel  of 
Christ?  Now,  after  you  have  found  for  yourself  a 
way  to  the  heart,  by  such  works — which  are  indeed 
infinitely  more  difiicult  than  words — you  will  then  find 
an  entrance  there  for  your  words  also.  Tenderness 
of  love  is  necessary  in  order  to  become  in  one's  words 
all  things  to  all  men.  Every  human  heart  is  a  little 
world,  and  each  is  approached  by  a  way  of  its  own. 
Learn  to  know  those  who  belong  to  you,  to  know  them 
in  their  deepest  and  truest  nature,  in  order  that  you 
may  speak  to  each  of  them  of  the  truth  in  the  very 
way  that  is  best  fitted  for  each.  Observe,  for  exam- 
ple, how  Paul  writes  in  an  entirely  different  way  to 
Philemon  and  to  Timotheus,  to  the  Galatians  and  the 
Philippians.  "I  desire  to  be  present  with  you  now, 
and  to  change  my  voice  as  ye  stand  in  need,"  he 
writes  to  the  Galatians.  Just  because  every  human 
heart  is  a  little  world  of  its  own,  and  has  its  own  door 
of  entrance,  it  is  not  enough  for  us  to  preach  from  the 
pulpit,  where  if  one  word  strikes  a  heart,  a  hundred 
others  fall  unheeded ;  we  must  follow  the  example  of 
Paul,  who,  when  he  parted  from  the  Church  at  Ephe- 
sus,  declared,  "I  have  kept  back  nothing  that  was 
profitable  unto  you,  but  have  showed  you,  and  have 
taught  you  publicly,  and  from  house  to  house."  0, 
if  the  example  of  a  Paul  has  any  weight  with  you,  if 
the  pattern  of  love  which  your  Saviour,  even  in  the 
hour  of  his  death,  presents,  has  any  influence  over 
you,  make  it  your  work,  I  beseech  you,  fathers,  chil- 
24* 


278  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

dren,  mothers,  brothers  and  sisters,  friends,  make  it 
your  earnest  work,  to  understand  those  you  love  in 
their  deepest  and  truest  nature,  in  order  that  you  may 
love  them  with  a  true  love,  in  order  that  you  may  be 
able  to  bring  to  them  in  tender  love,  that  gift  which 
is  of  more  value  than  any  other — the  gift  of  their 
eternal  salvation. 


SERMON  XL 

ELI,     ELI,     LAMA    SABACHTHANI?     MY    GOD,     MY    GOD,     WHY    HAST 
THOU    FORSAKEN   ME? 

Matthew  xxvii.  45,  46. — Now,  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  dark- 
ness over  all  the  land  unto  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth 
hour,  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabach- 
thani  ?  that  is  to  say.  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me? 

Christians,  you  have  heard  how  the  Son  of  God 
made  intercession  upon  the  cross  as  High-priest;  you 
have  seen  him,  as  King  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  open 
the  gate  of  paradise  to  the  penitent  sinner ;  and  you 
have  heard  how,  even  in  the  hour  of  death,  the  Son 
of  man  was  not  unmindful  of  his  earthly  mother. 
These  four  sayings,  all  of  them  expressive  of  the  Sa- 
viour's concern  for  others,  have  been  uttered.  No 
voice  is  now  heard  from  the  cross.  All  is  still,  save 
the  raging  of  the  billows  of  hate  and  scorn  beneath. 
Thus  three  hours,  from  the  ninth  hour  to  the  twelfth, 
have   passed   in  silence,  and   now  another   voice   is 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  279 

heard.  And  this  time  it  is  the  Lord  of  nature,  not 
the  patient  sufferer  on  the  cross,  that  opens  his 
mouth,  and  it  is  in  actions  that  he  speaks.  Darkness 
spreads  out  its  gloomy  wing  over  the  scene  where 
that  work  of  deepest  darkness  is  going  on.  The 
darkness  went  on  increasing,  till  the  third  hour;  and 
then  it  was  that  the  crucified  spoke  once  more.  Ah  ! 
what  intense  darkness  must  at  that  moment  have 
wrapt  his  soul,  for  never  had  these  sacred  lips  uttered 
words  so  gloomy!  We  read  in  Matthew  xxvii.  45, 
46:  '''Now,  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  darkness 
over  all  the  land  unto  the  ninth  hour.  And  about 
the  ninth  hour,  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sahachthanif  that  is  to  say, 
My  Grod,  my  Cfod,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  meV 

How  heavily  must  the  darkness  of  death  have  rested 
upon  that  holy  soul,  to  have  extorted  from  it  such 
words  as  these  in  an  hour  like  that !  You  will  not  be 
able  to  understand  them,  unless  you  bear  in  mind  the 
truth  which  our  former  meditations  have  taught  us, 
namely,  that  Jesus  felt  the  sin  of  man  far  more 
intensely  than  any  of  us  can  feel  it.  Our  loving  fel- 
low-feeling for  the  sinner  is  too  weak,  our  sympathy 
with  the  holiness  of  God  is  too  cold.  I  have  already 
invited  you  to  contemplate  the  Saviour  as  he  stood 
upon  the  heights  before  the  city,  and  tears  fell  from 
his  eyes,  as  he  thought  of  the  guilt  his  people  were  so 
shortly  to  incur.  We  have  been  with  him  in  Geth- 
semane  when,  in  anticipation  of  the  final  conflict,  he 
wrestled  with  God,  until  "his  sweat  was  as  it  were 
great   drops   of  blood."     You   have   heard   how,  as 


280  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

groaning  beneath  the  burden  of  the  cross,  he  went  to 
the  place  of  execution,  he  could  even  then  exclaim, 
"Weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  yourselves."  And 
now,  when  Grod  was  himself  as  it  were  intimating  to 
the  workers  of  iniquity  the  judgments  which  were  to 
come  upon  them,  as,  over  those  thousands  of  men, 
rejoicing  in  iniquity  and  in  malice,  nature  spread  her 
sombre  morning-garb,  the  darkness  ever  becoming 
more  mighty  and  more  awful — 0,  during  those  three 
last  hours,  when  all  without  was  silent,  how  acute 
must  the  mental  sufferings  of  Jesus  have  been !  Think, 
too,  of  his  physical  sufferings : — the  mid-day  sultriness 
would  make  his  wounds  smart  more  fiercely,  and  rack 
the  out-stretched  limbs  more  cruelly,  and  drive  the 
blood  more  furiously  back  upon  the  broken  heart! 
But  fiercely  as  his  wounds  may  burn,  the  thought  of 
his  people's  sins  is  harder  still  to  bear,  and  anxiously 
as  his  heart  may  beat  at  the  nearness  of  the  death- 
struggle,  his  soul  shrinks  yet  more  convulsively  from 
the  thought  of  the  judgments  which  these  sins  are 
bringing  in  their  train. — But  he  turns  his  eye  back  to 
the  times  of  old:  what  the  Boyal  Son  of  David  is 
enduring,  was  suffered  typically  by  his  royal  ances- 
tor. Had  not  David  prefigured  the  sufferings  of  the 
Messias  when  he  cried,  "  I  am  poured  out  like  water, 
and  all  my  bones  are  out  of  joint;  my  heart  is  like 
wax,  it  is  melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels.  My 
strength  is  dried  up  like  a  potsherd ;  and  my  tongue 
cleaveth  to  my  jaws ;  and  thou  hast  brought  me  into 
the  dust  of  death"?  And  did  he  not  also  anticipate 
the  glorification  of  his  great  Descendant,  when,  in  the 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  281 

close  of  that  same  twenty-second  Psalm,  he  joyfully 
exclaimed,  "  I  will  declare  thy  name  unto  my  brethren, 
in  the  midst  of  the  congregation  will  I  praise  thee. 
All  the  ends  of  the  world  shall  remember  and  turn 
unto  the  Lord;  and  all  the  kindreds  of  the  nations 
shall  worship  before  thee."  Hence  it  is  the  opening 
words  of  this  psalm,  of  which  the  Lord  makes  choice 
in  giving  expression  to  the  conflict  of  his  heart:  "Eli, 
Eli,  lama  sabachthani?  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast 
thou  forsaken  me?" 

Consider  these  words — first,  what  they  are  in  the 
mouth  of  Jesus.  They  are  an  acknowledgment  full 
of  confidence ;  a  question  full  of  awfulness  ;  and  a 
lamentation  full  of  horror.  Then  consider  what  they 
are  to  us:  an  accusation  well  fitted  to  humble  us;  a 
consolation  full  of  immeasurable  grace. 

My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me! 
What  do  we  understand  by  these  words  ?  First,  in 
the  words  "My  God,  my  God,"  there  is  an  acknow- 
ledgment full  of  confidence.  To  be  able  to  say 
to  that  great  Spirit  from  whom,  and  by  whom,  and 
to  whom  are  all  things — not  with  mere  words  but  in 
true  faith — thou  art  my  God,  to  be  able  to  say  that 
at  any  time,  was  much,  but  to  say  it  upon  the  tree 
of  shame  and  at  the  close  of  such  a  life,  was  unspeak- 
ably more.  Eor  surely  everything  appeared  to  say 
that  that  God,  the  God  of  his  youth,  to  whom,  as  a 
boy  of  twelve  years  of  age,  he  had  looked  up  as  to  his 
Father,  to  whom  as  a  man  he  had  trustingly  prayed 
during  the  battle  of  his  life,  surely  now  everything 
appeared   to   say   that   that   God   was   his   God   no 


282  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

longer.  If  jou  will  but  look  for  a  moment  with  an 
unbelieving  eye  from  the  cross,  back  upon  the  course 
of  that  short  life  that  now  lay  behind  him : — a  pro- 
phetic dawn  of  millenniums  in  duration  had  preceded 
him;  John  the  Baptist  had  been,  as  it  were,  the 
morning  red  announcing  the  nearness  of  his  advent; 
and  when  at  length  the  fulness  of  time  was  come,  did 
he  not  go  forth  in  the  days  of  his  manly  vigour  as  a 
bridegroom  to  woo  his  bride?  How  he  went  out  in 
search  of  that  bride — how  he  followed  her  among  the 
rocky  mountains,  and  in  the  lonely  wilderness — how 
he  sought  her  with  so  many  beauteous  works,  and 
gracious  words,  at  the  cost  of  so  many  toils  and 
labours,  to  win  her  heart  to  himself!  And  what  is 
now  the  result  of  it  all  ?  Instead  of  their  heart,  they 
have  given  him  a  cross;  instead  of  their  hand,  a 
thorny  crown;  instead  of  their  love,  a  cup  of  gall; 
and  beneath  the  cross  there  is  not  so  much  as  one 
voice  to  lay  down  the  testimony :  the  man  who  hangs 
there  is  He  whom  my  soul  loveth — no,  there  is  not  so 
much  as  one!  Can  it  then  be,  0  Jesus,  that  that 
God  who  allows  thy  sun  to  set  so  gloomily  when  it 
has  scarcely  risen,  that  God  who  at  the  end  of  such  a 
life  nails  thee  to  a  cross  of  shame,  can  it  be  that  he 
is  thy  God?  But,  despite  the  tempter's  insinuation, 
Jesus  exclaims.  My  God,  my  God ! 

But  undoubtedly  there  is  a  question  here,  and  it  is 
an  awful  question !  Jesus  asks  why  ?  This  is  at  any 
time  a  fearful  word,  when  it  is  the  creature  that  uses 
it  to  his  Creator.  Jesus  asks  why?  Once  in  the 
stormy  passages  of  my  life,  when  the  weight  of  my 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHllIST.  283 

burden  of  grief  was  too  great  for  my  shoulders  to 
bear,  I  raised  tbis  why.  When  my  own  being  and 
the  being  of  all  men  appeared  to  me  nothing  more 
than  a  sad,  insoluble  problem,  I  cried  out,  Why, 
Lord !  And  then  it  was  thou,  Jesus,  who  gavest  me 
an  answer  to  my  question — an  answer  so  gracious  and 
so  sweet,  that  all  my  doubtings  were  set  at  rest;  it 
was  thou  who  saidst  to  the  stormy  questionings  of  my 
heart  regarding  the  providence  of  God,  Peace  be 
still !  And  can  it  be  that  now  thou  thyself  turnest 
with  a  doubtful  "Why"  to  that  black  sky  above 
thee?  0  Jesus,  in  that  "Why"  of  thine  I  feel  all 
my  questionings,  all  my  doubtings,  rising  once  more 
loud  and  clamorous  within  my  heart;  I  feel  all  my 
old  wounds  opening  and  bleeding  afresh.  If  Jesus 
doubts,  who  shall  believe?  0  most  fearful  "Why" 
beneath  that  darkened  heaven,  that  dost  ascend  like 
a  pillar  of  smoke,  with  which  all  the  peace  and  all  the 
happiness  of  my  heart  ascend! — But  no,  no;  it  is  not 
so.  For  how  could  he  have  called  God  twice  His 
God — and  he  surely  knew  well  what  was  involved  in 
that — if  such  was  the  meaning  of  that  "Why?"  It 
is  not  to  be  conceived  tfiat  this  "Why"  expressed  the 
dark  questioning  of  a  heart  which  had  separated  itself 
from  God.  Did  he  not  thereafter,  with  the  words, 
"It  is  finished" — in  which  there  is  implied  the  con- 
sciousness that  the  problem  of  his  life  was  solved — 
terminate,  with  clear  consciousness,  all  his  grief  and 
all  his  pain?  how  then  can  this  "Wherefore"  be  the 
question  of  one  who  knows  not  the  reason  of  his  suf- 
ferings?    And  did  not  the  midnight  sky  above  him 


284  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

announce  that  his  God  had  not  forsaken  him?     For 
those  dark  clouds  were  not  merely  the  voice  of  God 
to   the    hardened    people.      To    them,    indeed,    they 
spoke.     And  what  they  said  was,  "Do  not  deceive 
yourselves;  I  suffer  not  my  beloved  Son  to  die  the 
death  of  a  malefactor  unavenged."     But  to  Jesus  too 
they  spoke,  and  their  voice  to  him  was  a  second  time, 
"I  have  glorified  my  name,  and  will  glorify  it  again." 
No ;  that  "why"  is  manifestly  not  one  which  requires 
or  expects  its  answer  from  heaven;  it  has  its  answer 
already  in  the  depths  of  his  own  heart.     Not  as  a 
question  addressed  to  God  is  it  to  be  regarded,  but  as 
a  question  addressed  to  his  own  heart,  which  even  in 
the  oppression  of  death  was  conscious  of  the  great  end 
of  his  life  and  sufferings.    As  in  Gethsemane,  "  Father, 
is  it  possible?"  is  followed  immediately  by,  "Not  my 
will  but  thine  be  done;"  so  doubtless  the  answer  to 
this  question  too  was  given  in  his  heart  along  with  it, 
to  his  own  consolation.     And  on  the  whole,  we  are 
not  so  much  to  view  these  words  as  a  question  on  the 
part  of  our  Lord,  but  rather  as  a  eri/  of  lamentation, 
similar  to  those  expressions  which  occur  in  that  psalm 
of  lamentation,   as  for  instance,  "Why  is  my  heart 
disquieted  within  me?"     "Why  art  thou  so  far  from 
me?"     "Wherefore  hidest  thou  thy  face?" 

It  is  a  cry  of  lamentation,  a  lamentation  full  of 
horror,  as  is  shown  by  the  words  which  follow,  "Why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me  ?"  Forsaken — is  there  a  sadder 
word  in  human  speech  than  this?  Forsaken — even 
when  it  is  only  said  of  being  forsaken  by  men,  or, 
when  it  is  said  of  one  that  he  is  forsaken  by  his  father 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  285 

and  his  mother,  how  sad,  how  desolate  is  the  sound ! 
But  here  we  read  of  being  forsaken  by  God !  Jesus 
is  forsaken  of  God!  0  dreary  lamentation  of  my 
Lord,  what  dost  thou  disclose  to  me?  But,  ye  who 
love  him,  be  not  discouraged  at  the  sound.  He  is  not 
forsaken  of  his  God,  of  whom  even  in  death  he  calls 
his  God ;  but  he  feels  himself  forsaken  of  his  God, 
inasmuch  as  everything  which  otherwise  the  nearness 
of  God  to  his  people  implies — assistance  and  relief, 
peace,  joy — is  at  this  moment  far  from  the  soul  of 
Jesus.  It  was  because  at  that  moment  the  anguish 
of  his  spirit  was  stronger  than  the  sense  of  the  near- 
ness of  his  God  that  he  cried,  '^Why  hast  thou  for- 
saken me?"  The  man  who  in  lively  faith  can  say  to 
God,  "My  God,"  has  heaven  in  his  heart.  But  now, 
although  Jesus  can  still  call  God  his  God,  yet  behold, 
the  midnight  blackness  of  the  sky  above  him,  has 
brought  with  it  night  around  the  heaven  of  his  heart ! 
Let  me  now  speak  of  the  causes  of  this  sense  of  God- 
forsakenness.  First,  these  words  of  Jesus  are  expres- 
sive of  the  anguish  of  a  human  heart  under  the  ago- 
nies of  the  cross  ;  the  sufferings  of  a  man  in  close  and 
in  solitary  conflict  with  death.  Those  of  you  who 
have  seen  a  human  being  struggling  in  the  arms  of 
death,  know  how  severe  that  conflict  is.  He  who  has 
never  stood  by  the  death-bed  of  a  beloved  friend, 
and  there  seen  life  in  stern  fight  with  death,  and  has 
never  witnessed  the  pains  and  agonies  of  dissolving 
nature;  he  who  has  never  stood  there  and  watched 
the  slow  but  irresistible  progress  of  the  enemy  of 
man,  his  advance  marked  by  increasing  weakness 
25 


286  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

and  distress;  he  who  has  never  seen  one  dear  to 
him  wrestling  with  death — 0,  he  can  form  no  idea  of 
the  Saviour's  conflict  in  that  weary  hour  !  What  a 
bitter  thing  is  death !  And  yet  how  much  easier  is  it 
for  us  sinners  to  die,  than  it  was  for  that  Holy  One. 
We  breathe  our  last  upon  an  easy  couch;  beside  us 
stands  the  minister  of  God  with  the  holy  sacrament, 
the  sign  and  seal  of  grace ;  around  us  are  those  we 
love,  hearts  to  contend  along  with  us,  to  pray  for  us, 
hands  to  wipe  from  the  brow  the  dews  of  death,  and 
gently  close  the  eye.  Thus  we  sinners  die,  and  there 
the  holy  Jesus  struggles  alone  with  death — alone,  sus- 
pended in  mid-air  between  earth  and  heaven.  His 
couch  is  the  tree  of  torture ;  instead  of  tears,  and  the 
sweet  sympathy  of  friends,  he  hears  nothing  but  the 
scoffing  of  the  crowd  beneath  his  cross;  instead  of 
hands  to  close  his  dying  eye,  there  is  a  spear  to  pierce 
his  side!  Yes,  behold  him!  It  is  he  into  whose 
hands  the  Father  has  committed  all  things  in  heaven 
and  on  earth.  He  who,  as  he  hung  there  upon  the 
accursed  tree,  the  rejected  of  his  people,  and  the 
object  of  their  mockery,  knew  all  along  that  he  was 
come  from  God  and  went  to  God  !  Consider  all  this, 
and  then  you  will  have  some  idea  of  the  anguish  that 
those  words  express,  "Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 
When  we  die,  we  do  but  pay  the  penalty  of  our  sin, 
and  this  debt  we  mu^t  discharge ;  but  he  who  died  as 
a  malefactor  upon  Calvary,  fought  that  fight  of  death, 
drank  that  cup  of  gall  freely,  out  of  sovereign  love  ! 

Bound  upon  the  accursed  tree, 
Faint  and  bleeding,  who  is  He?" 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  287 

By  the  eyes  so  pale  and  dim, 

Streaming  blood  and  writhing  limb ; 

By  the  flesh  with  scourges  torn; 

By  the  crown  of  twisted  thorn; 

By  the  bafiied,  burning  thirst; 

By  the  drooping,  death-dewed  brow — 

Son  of  Man?   'tis  Thou!  'tis  Thou! 

And  yet  it   cannot  have  been   the  pain  of  death 
alone  that  uttered  its  voice  in  that  dreary  cry.     If, 
when  he  was  well  nigh  fainting  beneath  .the  weight  of 
the  cross,  he  could  still  say  to  those  who  were  lament- 
ing for  him,  "Weep  not  for  me,  but  weep  for  your- 
selves;" if  even  then  he  was  less  moved  by  his  own 
sufferings  than  by  the  thought  of  what  was  the  occa- 
sion of  these  sufferings,  we  may  be  certain  that  this 
was  also  the  case  when  he  uttered  that  cry.     And, 
indeed,  I  may  ask,  Did  it  ever  happen  that  a  bene- 
factor perished  amid  the  derision  of  those  whom,  even 
in  dying,  he  blessed ;  or  that  a  king  expired  amid  the 
insults  of  his  subjects ;  or  a  father  amid  the  mockery 
of  his  children — were  such  acts  of  atrocity  ever  com- 
mitted, without  its  being  the  case,  that  such  scorn 
pierced  more  deeply,  and  stung  more  keenly,  than  all 
the  pains  with  which  death  assailed  the  dying?     Can 
we  then  come  to  any  other  conclusion,  than  that  a 
wound  more  severe  than  any  that  death  could  inflict 
upon  Jesus  was  that  which  was  caused  by  the  mockery 
and  scorn  of  the  men  beneath  his  cross  ?     This  is  the 
keenest  sting  in  all  his  sorrows,  this  is  the  chief  cause 
of  the  cry  of  lamentation,  "My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me?"     Men  and  brethren,  feel  it 
to  be  such!     You  may  stand  by  the  cross  of  Jesus 


288  SUFFERINGS    AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

and  be  deeply  moved  by  the  intensity  of  the  grief 
which  weighed  upon  the  divine  sufferer.  In  this  you 
do  well,  for  he  loves  your  tears  of  sympathy.  But 
there  are  other  tears  which  he  loves  still  more,  and 
those  are  the  tears  of  penitence.  And  thus  those 
awful  words,  "Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani,"  have  also 
a  momentous  lesson  for  us.  Lay,  then,  to  heart  what 
they  contain  more  nearly  concerning  us.  They  con- 
tain, in  the  first  place,  an  accusation  well  fitted  to 
humble  us. 

True  it  is,  we  did  not  bring  him  to  the  place  of 
execution  where  he  breathed  out  his  holy  soul,  we  did 
not  bind  the  scourges  that  smote  his  bleeding  back, 
we  did  not  erect  the  cross  upon  which  he  groaned 
Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabachthani ;  personally  tve  did  nothing 
of  all  this,  but  mankind  did  it,  and  therefore  every 
human  being  is  called  upon  to  weep.  0  what  a  hu- 
miliation is  it  for  man,  who  prides  himself  upon  his 
divine  origin,  to  think  that,  when  He,  who  bore  upon 
every  feature  of  his  countenance,  who  disclosed  in 
every  word  of  his  mouth,  his  heavenly  birth,  came  into 
this  world  of  ours,  he  should  have  been  so  deeply  ig- 
nored! Yes,  we  are  the  children  of  a  divine  Father 
— but  ah,  to  what  an  extent  must  man  have  forgotten 
his  celestial  origin,  before  he  could  cause  him  who 
was  the  express  image  of  that  Father's  person,  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh,  to  die  the  death  of  a  malefactor ! 
Consider  this,  ye  well-meaning  friends  of  humanity,  ye 
impassioned  poets,  ye  eloquent  orators !  Ye  are  wont 
to  declaim  about  the  divine  origin  of  the  species,  but, 
above  all  the  tumult  of  your  eloquence  and  your  exul- 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  289 

tation,  rises  in  silent  and  stern  reality  the  black  cross 
of  Golgotha,  and  humility  is  the  lesson  which  its 
voiceless  awfulness  proclaims!  0  youth,  full  of 
dreams,  and  frenzied  with  enthusiasm,  which  revellest 
in  thy  high  ideals  of  science  and  of  art — the  cross  of 
Golgotha  stands  out  above  thy  dreams,  and  tells  thee 
of  an  alienation  of  man  from  God,  which  in  thee  and 
in  all  men  must  be  destroyed,  if  thy  high  ideals  are 
ever  to  become  anything  but  dreams.  Not  for  him, 
0,  not  for  him,  was  the  tree  on  which  he  bled,  a  tree 
of  shame  and  infamy,  but  for  us.  In  these  days  in 
which  we  live,  mankind,  intoxicated  with  the  progress 
of  modern  times  in  the  arts  and  sciences,  is  wont  to 
pride  itself  more  than  ever  on  its  noble  origin,  its 
royal  descent,  and  therefore,  especially  in  these  days, 
the  preachers  of  the  gospel  of  the  cross  must  every- 
where let  their  voice  be  heard,  must  everywhere 
ask,  if  at  the  same  time  men  really  are  progress- 
ing in  love  to  God — in  humility — in  penitence — in 
faith — in  self-denial?  And  if  you  cannot  give  this 
question  a  joyous  affirmative  response,  then  the 
preacher  of  the  truth  incurs  no  blame,  when  he  desig- 
nates all  this  rejoicing  over  the  progress  of  man  by 
the  name  of  one  of  the  splendid  lies  of  the  age,  by 
which  men  are  cheating  themselves  of  the  highest  of 
all  blessings,  ay,  of  the  one  thing  needful.  .Mortals, 
lay  aside  those  high  ideas  with  which  you  do  but 
flatter  your  own  foolish  vanity.  Here  stands  the 
cross  of  Golgotha,  it  brings  against  you  an  accusa- 
tion which  well  may  humble  your  pride ;  and  at  the 
same  time  it  points  out,  sternly  and  solemnly,  that 
25* 


290     SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST. 

path  of  progress  which,  better  than  all  other  ways, 
men  would  do  well  to  tread.  Yes,  we  are  a  royal,  a 
heavenly  race,  and  the  Holy  Scriptures  hold  up  to  us 
our  family  tree;  it  is  inscribed,  moreover,  on  the 
tables  of  our  heart.  But  now  in  their  fallen  state  the 
King's  children  will  nevermore  attain  to  the  sceptre 
they  have  lost,  until  they  stand  as  beggars  before  the 
throne  of  God,  and  humbly  confess  from  what  a 
height  they  fell. 

To  those,  on  the  other  hand,  who  have  brought 
themselves  to  sit  down  with  bowed  head  and  stream- 
ing eye  at  the  cross  of  Golgotha;  who  would  advance 
— 0  so  readily — upon  the  way  which  leads  to  God, 
but  feel  that  they  still  lag  behind,  to  them  I  preach 
the  cross  of  Jesus  and  his  cry,  "My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  as  a  ground  of  consola- 
tion full  of  immeasurable  grace.  For  the  blood 
which  was  shed  there  was  the  blood  of  the  new  cove- 
nant shed  for  many  for  the  remission  of  sins.  A  new 
covenant  has  been  established,  and  this  time  it  is  not 
by  works  of  righteousness  that  we  have  done,  but 
according  to  his  mercy  that  he  saves  us.  The  way  to 
heaven  lies  no  longer  upwards  from  beneath,  but 
downwards  from  above.  Believers,  the  cross  is  no 
longer  a  cross  to  you,  to  you  it  is  no  more  a  tree  of 
of  shamq.  The  apostle  has  called  it  a  throne  of 
grace,  a  throne  which  God  himself  has  set  up  in  order 
to  dispense  to  all  who  believe,  the  righteousness 
which  is  well  pleasing  in  his  sight.  The  chastise- 
ment of  our  peace  was  laid  upon  him.  Beloved,  does 
the  majesty  of  God  appear  anywhere  in  a  more  over- 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  291 

whelming  and  wonderful  way  in  the  eyes  of  men, 
than  in  that  scheme  of  salvation  in  which  he  trans- 
forms the  very  evil  of  man  into  a  means  and  an 
instrument  of  bringing  to  light  his  purposes  of  grace. 
You  remember  on  that  last  evening,  how  the  soul 
of  the  holy  Jesus  shuddered  with  horror,  as  long 
as  Judas,  the  son  of  perdition  was  present;  and 
that  horror  was  caused  by  the  thought  of  what 
the  deed  he  was  going  to  perpetrate  would  involve 
for  him.  But  scarce  had  the  traitor  received  the 
sop,  and  gone  out  into  the  night,  than  his  spirit, 
rejoicing  in  the  thought  of  what  the  divine  counsel 
was  to  bring  out  of  this  work  of  darkness  for  the 
eternal  blessedness  of  man,  broke  out  in  the  exulting 
words,  "Now  is  the  Son  of  Man  glorified."  There 
is  nothing  fitted  to  move  men  more  deeply,  nothing 
that  can  more  strongly  impress  them  with  a  sense 
of  the  majesty  of  God,  than  the  miracle  of  grace 
by  which  the  cross — for  man  the  memorial  of  the 
basest  ignominy — is  converted  into  a  throne  of 
mercy,  and  every  cry  of  anguish  that  the  Saviour 
uttered,  changed  into  a  source  of  consolation  full  of 
immeasurable  grace.  The  chastisement  was  upon  him 
in  order  that  we  might  be  healed. 

Wherefore,  then,  dost  thou  faint,  why  art  thou  dis- 
couraged ?  If  thy  sins  oppress  thee,  know  that  Jesus 
hath  borne  them  all.  And  now  there  is  no  more  suf- 
fering, no  more  penance  to  undergo  on  account  of  sin, 
nothing  but  the  fellowship  of  our  souls  with  his  sufi'er- 
ings.  His  strong  crying  and  tears,  his  grief  and  his 
pain,  his  "My  God,  my  God,"  his  "Why,"  his  for- 


292  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

saken  heart — by  faith  they  have  all  become  ours,  ours 
to  make  us  righteous  before  him.  And  thus  my 
Saviour  and  my  God! — 

Thus  when  my  sins  my  weary  bosom  smart, 

I'll  plunge  them  in  thy  sorrow's  ample  tide, 
And  'mid  the  anguish  of  my  bruised  heart, 

I'll  refuge  seek  within  thy  bleeding  side. 
My  troubled  soul  is  pacified  when  I 

Myself  forget  in  Jesus'  dying  woe ; 
And  sweetly  weeps  the  penitential  eye 

Whose  tears  with  thine,  my  Saviour,  mingled  flow. 


SERMON    XII. 

ELI,    ELI,    LAMA   SABACHTHANI?     MY   GOD,    MY   GOD,    WHY   HAST 
THOU   FORSAKEN  ME? 

Matthew  xxvii.  45,  46. — Now,  from  the  sixth  hour  there  was  dark- 
ness over  all  the  land  unto  the  ninth  hour.  And  about  the  ninth 
hour,  Jesus  cried  with  a  loud  voice,  saying,  Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabach- 
thani?  that  is  to  say,  My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me? 

We  are  engaged  in  meditating  upon  an  exclamation  of 
our  Lord,  which  fills  the  human  breast  with  a  strange, 
unwonted  sense  of  awe.  Christ,  the  helper  of  man  in 
all  Ms  need,  he  to  whom  all  men  cry  when  they  are 
forsaken — he  it  is  who  cries,  "My  God,  my  God,  why 
hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  Surely  nature  must  have 
been  out  of  joint,  and  the  pillars  of  the  earth  must  have 
been  dissolved,  when  such  a  cry  was  heard !  Surely, 
even  if  it  had  not  been  recorded,  we  must  have  believed 
that  at  the  sound  nature  hid  her  face  as  ashamed ;  and 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  293 

if,  when  Jesus  felt  himself  forsaken,  men  did  not 
mourn,  nature  at  least  would  put  on  her  garb  of  woe. 
And  so  indeed  it  was.  The  sun  above  the  cross  had 
laid  aside  his  brightness,  when  Jesus  uttered  that  cry, 
and  the  earth  was  enveloped  in  a  gloomy  pall.  If  we 
have  already  felt  strongly  that  the  spectacle  presented 
to  us  in  the  cross  of  Christ  is  one  such  as  the  world 
never  saw  before,  and  will  never  see  again,  this  feeling 
comes  upon  us  here  with  an  overwhelming  power.  You 
will  find  the  words  of  our  text,  as  on  the  last  occasion, 
in  Matthew  xxvii.  45,  46:  ^'JVow,  from  the  sixth  hour 
there  was  darkness  over  all  the  land  unto  the  ninth 
hour.  And  about  the  ninth  hour,  Jesus  cried  with  a 
loud  voice,  saying,  JEli,  Eli,  lama  sahachthani?  that 
is  to  say.  My  God,  my  Grod,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
mer 

Let  us  endeavour  to  lay  to  heart  how,  in  these 
words,  Jesus  identified  himself  with  us  in  our  great 
guilt ;  and  how  we  should  seek  to  identify  ourselves 
with  him  in  his  great  sufferings. 

Observe,  how  Jesus  identified  himself  with  us  in 
our  great  guilt.  The  words  of  which  our  Lord  makes 
use  to  express  his  affliction  are  taken  from  one  of  the 
psalms.  In  other  cases  sorrow  is  wont  to  speak  in  its 
own  words.  And  we  must  conclude  that,  if,  in  this 
moment  of  extremest  need,  the  Saviour  used  not  his 
own  words,  but  a  text  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  in  giv- 
ing expression  to  his  grief,  the  text  he  used  must  have 
a  very  special  significance  for  him,  and  a  very  deep 
import  for  us.  Let  us,  then,  in  the  first  place,  direct 
our  attention  to  a  consideration  of  the  reasons  why 


294  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

our  Lord  connected  this  psalm  so  very  closely  with 
his  own  personal  experience.     Now,  in  general,  of  all 
the  books  in  the  Bible,  that  of  the  Psalms  is  the  one 
which  furnishes   the   most  fitting  utterances   of  the 
deepest  and  most  convulsive  struggles  of  the  human 
heart.      Luther   says  of  this   book,   "Nowhere   else 
canst  thou  find   deeper,  or  more  touching  words   of 
sadness,  than    are   to   be  found  in  the  lamentation 
psalms ;  there  thou  mayest  look  into  the  heart  of  the 
saints,  as  into  death,  ay,  as  hell  itself,  so  darkly  is  it 
represented  there,  from  the  gloomy  view  of  the  wrath 
of  God."     Now,  perhaps  the  deepest  notes  of  lamen- 
tation that  this  book  contains,  which  are  as  sad  as 
perhaps  any  human  lips  ever  uttered,  are  to  be  heard 
in  the  twenty-second  Psalm.     Who  does  not  feel  a 
cold  chill  pass  over  his  soul,  when  he  reads  these 
mournful  words,  "I  am  poured  out  like  water,  all  my 
bones  are  out  of  joint,  my  heart  is  like  wax,  it  is 
melted  in  the  midst  of  my  bowels.     My  strength  is 
dried  up  like  a  potsherd,  and  my  tongue  cleaveth  to 
my  jaws ;  and  thou  hast  brought  me  into  the  dust  of 
death."      Who    does   not,    in   reading   these   words, 
think  he  is  listening  to  a  soul,  from  whose  eyes  light 
and    consolation  have   passed  away  for  ever!     Who 
anticipates  that  upon  such  a  depth  of  darkness  the 
sun  will  ever  rise  again?     And  yet  all  at  once  the 
brightness  of  morning  breaks  upon  its  night.     Would 
that  the  experience — to  which  some  of  us  can  bear  tes- 
timony— were  known  to  all  here  present,  the  blessed 
experience  of  how  the  Spirit  of  God  often  breaks  in 
upon  our  most  ardent  petitions  at  a  throne  of  grace 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  295 

with  an  affirmative  answer  to  our  request.  Then  the 
words  are  heard,  Dry  thine  eyes,  for  thou  art  answered, 
and  thy  prayers  have  come  up  with  acceptance  before 
God.  Thus  does  the  morning-red  look  forth  upon  us, 
from  behind  the  blackest  cloud  of  sorrow.  0 !  what 
an  experience  is  that  of  God  coming  very  near  to 
man.  The  Psalms,  which  indeed  may  be  said  to  teach 
us  what  praying  means,  furnish  us  with  many  similar 
examples.  And  what  an  impressive  instance  we  have 
of  this  in  the  psalm  before  us.  The  soul  which,  but  a 
moments  ago  lay,  with  broken  wing,  panting  upon  the 
ground,  now  suddenly  is  seen  to  rise  and  soar  and 
sing  in  the  golden  light  of  the  sun.  Thus  from  out 
the  darkness  of  the  greatest  gloom,  the  shout  of  joy 
breaks  forth,  in  grateful  acknowledgment  that  the 
prayer  has  been  heard :  "  Ye  that  fear  the  Lord,  praise 
him ;  all  ye  seed  of  Jacob,  glorify  him ;  and  fear  him, 
all  ye  the  seed  of  Israel — for  he  hath  not  despised 
nor  abhorred  the  affliction  of  the  afflicted:  neither 
hath  he  hid  his  face  from,  but  when  he  cried  unto 
him,  he  heard."  And  who  is  not  amazed  when,  in 
words  of  winged  speech  it  is  announced,  that  this  grief 
and  this  joy  are  to  become  as  it  were  a  banquet  at 
which  all  kingdoms  of  the  earth  and  all  the  poor  shall 
rejoice,  the  knowledge  of  which  shall  extend  far  be- 
yond the  limits  of  time  and  space  to  the  most  distant 
generation  of  the  future,  and  to  the  utmost  bounds  of 
the  surface  of  the  earth.  "  The  meek  shall  eat,  and 
be  satisfied.  A^l  the  ends  of  the  world  shall  remem- 
ber and  turn  unto  the  Lord,  and  all  the  kindreds  of 
the  nations  shall  worship  before  him.     A  seed  shall 


296  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

serve  him ;  they  shall  make  known  the  Lord  to  chil- 
dren's children.  They  shall  come  and  shall  declare 
his  righteousness  unto  a  people  that  shall  be  born." 
Beloved  in  Christ,  this  scripture  is  fulfilled  in  your 
ears.  We  have  heard  of  that  glory  into  which  Christ 
passed  from  out  his  great  sufierings,  we  sit  at  the  table 
which  has  been  prepared  beneath  his  cross  for  men, 
we  are  the  seed  that  serve  him,  we  declare  his  name 
to  children's  children  and  to  the  people  that  is  to  be 
born.  Do  you  understand  now  why  the  Lord  should 
have  selected  just  these  words  when  he  poured  out  the 
grief  of  his  soul  ?  Is  not  all  prophecy  given  in  order 
that  we  may  learn  that,  whatever  may  occur  in  God's 
world,  nothing  can  take  place  that  is  not  foreseen  by 
him;  and  it  is  so,  in  order  that  mortals  may  be  well 
assured  that,  even  when  what  happens  is  most  in  oppo- 
sition to  all  human  expectation,  it  is  nevertheless 
nothing  else  but  what  has  been  decreed  long  before 
our  calculations,  even  from  eternity,  by  a  wisdom  that 
cannot  err.  ''As  it  is  written' — these  words  the 
Lord  seems  always  to  brandish  like  a  shield,  clear  and 
polished,  from  which  all  the  arrows  of  doubt  glance 
off.  And  these  words,  "As  it  is  written,"  are  our 
shield,  too,  my  brethren !  When  in  the  hour  of  dan- 
ger, the  disciples  fled  from  their  Lord  and  left  him 
alone  with  his  enemies,  Jesus  calmly  said,  "As  it  is 
written."  "As  it  is  written" — this  word  he  kept  be- 
fore his  mental  eye,  when  a  Judas  became  his  betrayer, 
and  when,  in  company  with  malefactors,  he  journeyed 
to  Golgotha.  And  now  as  the  waves  of  woe  are  closing 
over  his  head,  it  is  from  these  words  that  he  draws 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  297 

consolation.  If  any  one  of  us,  my  brethren,  could 
see  his  conflicts  and  his  pains,  his  trials  and  his  sor- 
rows, as  they  are  registered  in  that  book  which  God 
keeps  concerning  us  all ;  and  could  read  there,  or  ever 
they  were  realized,  "  So  many  days  of  weeping  are 
decreed  to  this  my  child,  and  so  many  days  of  joy, 
thus  often  will  he  be  defeated  and  fall,  thus  often  will 
he  arise  and  conquer;"  0,  if  any  one  could  but  dis- 
cern the  balance  in  which  our  powers  in  one  scale  are 
measured  against  our  burdens  in  the  other,  how  would 
he  thus  be  armed  with  new  strength !  Christians  see 
this  indeed  to  some  extent,  and  hence  their  resolution, 
hence  their  courage  in  the  fight ;  but  it  is  only  with 
the  eye  of  faith  that  they  see  it.  The  Saviour,  on  the 
other  hand,  could  read  it  with  his  bodily  eye  on  the 
page  of  prophecy  that  had  foretold  his  sufferings  and 
his  glory.  You  see  then  how,  in  this  the  hour  of  his 
bitter  suffering,  the  Saviour  went  back  in  spirit  to  the 
voices  of  ancient  prophecy,  and  in  its  language  breathed 
out  the  lament  of  his  soul. 

"My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?" 
Such  was  the  cry  that  sounded  up  the  midnight 
heaven.  Even  in  that  hour  God  was  still  his  God,  as 
is  testified  by  the  repeated  invocation.  Even  then 
was  it  true,  "My  Father  does  not  leave  me  alone;" 
but  the  inexhaustible  spring  of  blessedness  and  joy, 
which  used  to  well  up  from  that  fellowship  with  the 
Father,  flowed  now  no  more.  0  my  brothers,  what  is 
it  which  wrings  from  this  forsaken  heart  these  deepest 
tones  of  sorrow?  What  crushing  burden  lies  upon 
his  soul,  that  it  should  utter  so  heavy  a  groan  ?  We 
26 


298  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

behold  the  back  all  furrowed  with  stripes,  the  brow 
pierced  with  thorns,  the  parched  lips,  the  bleeding 
prints  of  the  nails.  We  see  all  this,  but  it  does  not 
sufficiently  explain  the  mystery;  for  we  know  that 
many  others  have  suffered  all  this,  who  have  not 
poured  so  sad  a  plaint  as  he  did.  0  thou  noble  Head 
of  that  Church  which  thy  blood  has  redeemed,  if  thy 
poor  children  and  members,  if  a  Huss  and  a  Polycarp 
have  stood  firm  in  the  agonies  of  death,  strong  in  fel- 
lowship with  thee — how  is  it  that  thou  didst  become 
so  faint? 

My  brethren,  we  must  here  bear  in  mind  that  we 
Christians  have  a  very  different  example  of  endurance 
and  fortitude  in  affliction,  from  that  with  which  the 
wise  men  of  ancient  times  present  us.  They  regarded 
it  as  the  highest  triumph  over  suffering,  to  be  able  to 
say  to  pain,  Thou  art  not  pain — despising  it,  instead 
of  conquering  it.  Yain,  presumptuous  self-deception ! 
such  as,  notwithstanding,  may  also  be  discovered  in 
many  of  us,  although  we  know  in  the  secret  of  our 
hearts  that  the  thought  is  vain.  No;  the  pain  of  our 
miserable  body,  our  sicknesses  and  our  wounds,  form 
part  of  those  thorns  and  thistles,  which,  since  the  fall, 
the  earth  has  brought  forth  in  such  plenty  to  man; 
and  has,  moreover,  brought  forth,  in  accordance  with 
a  divine  purpose — so  that  to  despise  and  forget  pain, 
instead  of  combatting  against  it,  and  triumphing  over 
it,  is  to  fight  against  the  fatherly  purposes  of  God  con- 
cerning us.  Therefore,  Christians  ought  to  be  sensi- 
ble to  pain,  and  acknowledge  it  as  that  which  it  is ; 
but  you  must,   at  the  same  time  summon  up  strong 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OP   CHRIST.  299 

thoufilits  ao;ainst  it,  so  that  when  the  waves  of  afflic- 
tion  rise  around  you,  they  may  be  beaten  back,  and 
again  rolled  into  the  bed  in  which  they  flow.  That  is 
what  suffering  as  Christians  means.  Afflicted  Chris- 
tians !  let  it  not  be  your  ambition  to  emulate  your  un- 
believing fellow-sufferers  in  the  art  of  holding  back 
your  feelings  and  restraining  them  within  your  breast. 
No,  rather  give  free  expression  to  the  pent-up  feelings 
of  your  heart ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  along  with  the 
voice  of  lamentation,  let  the  prayer  of  your  confidence, 
and  your  resignation,  be  heard.  It  should  therefore 
no  longer  surprise  us,  that  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
should  have  found  the  gall  so  bitter,  and  that  his  soul 
shrank  back  from  it  so  sensitively;  and  there  is 
nothing  strange  in  the  idea,  that  in  that  cry  of  la- 
mentation, this  sense  of  bodily  suffering  had  also  a 
part. 

But  supposing  this  to  have  been  the  case,  we  feel 
that  the  sense  of  physical  pain  alone  does  not  suffice 
to  account  for  the  greatness  of  his  grief.  That  ex- 
ternal agony  which  the  eye  can  see,  is  not  enough  to 
explain  it,  there  must  have  been  some  invisible  burden 
weighing  down  his  soul,  when  he  cried,  "  My  God,  my 
God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  In  his  lifetime  he 
had  never  been  an  object  of  solicitude  to  himself;  he 
had  never  sought  his  own,  but  always  the  things  of 
others.  And  surely,  if,  in  this  his  last  moment,  the 
only  thought  that  filled  his  breast,  that  drew  from  him 
this  cry,  was  his  own  distress,  he  could  no  longer  have 
been  the  same.  Could  it  indeed  be,  that  he  who,  when 
he  was  sinking  beneath  the  cross,  exclaimed,  "<.Weep 


800  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

not  for  we,  but  for  yourselves,"  wept  and  lamented 
now,  alone,  or  chiefly,  on  account  of  his  own  sufferings  ? 
He  who,  upon  the  cross,  as  they  were  piercing  his  hands 
and  his  feet,  could  forget  his  own  sorrow,  and  pray  for 
the  forgiveness  of  their  sins,  can  he  now  have,  in  his 
own  sorrow,  forgotten  their  guilt  ?  No,  if  even  to  the 
highest  of  his  sufferings,  Jesus  remained  true  to  himself, 
then  we  may,  without  hesitation,  affirm,  that  in  this 
soul-cry  of  anguish  he  thought  more  on  others  than  on 
himself,  and  that  his  soul  was  so  dark  and  troubled, 
more  from  the  consideration  of  their  guilt,  than  of  what 
he  was  himself  enduring.  Consider :  He,  into  whose 
hands  all  power  is  given  in  heaven  and  earth,  hangs 
there,  between  earth  and  heaven,  naked  and  bleeding, 
and  by  the  hands  of  wicked  men  he  has  been  brought 
so  low.  He  has  waited  from  hour  to  hour  in  the  hope 
that  at  least  one  heart  in  that  vast  crowd  beneath 
may  soften,  but  he  has  heard  only  the  voice  of  mock- 
ery, and  never  a  voice  of  love.  And  while  men  pour 
forth  scorn  and  insult,  nature  arrays  herself  in  mourn- 
ing— thus  delivering  a  testimony  to  the  Lord  of  nature 
of  the  enormity  of  the  guilt  which  men  are  there 
incurring,  and  the  blackness  of  the  crime  they  are 
there  committing.  Then  does  there  arise  before  his 
soul,  as  it  had  never  arisen  before,  the  thought  of  the 
fearful  apostacy  of  that  race,  which  had  been  once 
created  to  be  the  children  of  God!  It  is  a  sea  of 
gloom  whose  waves  surround  his  soul,  upon  whose  sur- 
face the  denial  of  a  Peter,  the  treachery  of  a  Judas, 
the  insolence  of  a  Caiaphas,  the  blasphemy  of  a  male- 
factor>  rise  like  so  many  swelling  billows.    The  thought 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  301 

of  his  own  sorrow  falls  completely  into  the  background, 
while  that  of  their  guilt  stands  out  prominently  before 
his  mental  eye ;  and  in  the  grievous  oppression  of  his 
spirit  he  looks  for  consolation  to  that  word  of  prophe- 
cy, in  which,  along  with  the  description  of  his  tem- 
poral grief,  is  foretold  the  eternal  glory  which  should 
follow,  and  cries,  with  the  opening  words  of  that  pro- 
phecy, "My  God,  my  God,  why  hast  thou  forsaken 
me?"  Yes,  verily,  God  is  his  God  still,  as  the  twice- 
spoken  cry  of  appropriation  proclaims,  but  that  joy  of 
heart,  in  which  at  other  seasons  the  nearness  of  God 
was  made  manifest,  had  for  the  moment  vanished 
away,  in  the  contemplation  of  the  great  guilt  of  his 
human  brethren. 

Jesus!  with  thy  sorrow  ne'er 
Other  sorrow  can  compare. 
Who  thy  dying  pangs  can  see, 
And  not  melt  in  sympathy? 
For  our  lost  and  guilty  race 
Thou  hast  bled — 0  wondrous  grace  ? 
Love  it  is  has  brought  thee  low, 
And  thy  soul  with  sorrow  torn, 
Made  thee  taste  such  bitter  woe. 
How  can  I  such  love  return? 

Such  is  the  question  which  he  puts,  who  experiences 
this  love  even  to  his  last  expiring  breath.  And  this 
question  we  put  also.  And  to  it  I  answer.  Yes,  Chris- 
tian soul,  thou  canst,  thou  must  return  it,  for  one  love 
deserves  another.  As  Jesus  identified  himself  with  us 
in  our  great  guilt,  so  shouldst  thou  seek  to  identify 
thyself  with  him  in  his  great  sufferings, 
26* 


302  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

One  love  deserves  another.  As  he  has  made  thy 
guilt  his  guilt,  so  shalt  thou  make  his  sorrow  thy  sor- 
row. Soul,  the  cross  of  Christ  is  to  become  thine 
altar  of  penitence.  Then  for  the  first  time  shalt  thou 
learn  what  true  repentance  is,  when  thou  dost  make 
the  cross  of  Christ  the  altar  of  thy  penitence.  It  is 
an  altar  so  solemn  and  so  stern,  but  yet  so  full  of  con- 
solation ; — dark  clouds  hang  above  it,  but  through  the 
darkness  a  rainbow  shines,  the  rainbow  of  a  new  cove- 
nant which  God  has  made  with  sinners.  It  is  a  stern, 
solemn  altar,  for  the  Saviour's  cry  of  lamentation 
rings  above  it,  as  a  cry  of  horror  at  man's  depravity ; 
but  it  is  at  the  same  time  full  of  consolation,  for  that 
cry  of  lamentation  is  also  a  proof  how  strong  the  love 
of  Christ  must  have  been,  to  go  down  after  them  into 
so  deep  an  abyss  of  guilt.  Here  indeed,  at  this  altar, 
you  will  learn  true  repentance,  if  you  will  only  iden- 
tify yourselves  with  your  Saviour  in  his  great  suffer- 
ings. You  may  have  already  experienced  sorrow  and 
penitence  on  account  of  sin,  but  they  have  not  sprung 
from  the  proper  source.  Your  sin  has  made  you 
sorry,  merely  because  of  the  consequences  and  the 
judgments  which  followed  in  its  train;  you  feared  the 
anger  of  God,  but  not  your  sin.  0,  is  it  not  all  too 
true — many  of  you  would  willingly  spend  an  eternity 
in  the  enjoyment  of  sin,  were  it  not  for  the  bitterness 
of  the  feeling  it  leaves  behind  it!  Yes,  there  are 
undoubtedly  many  here  present,  who,  were  they  to 
examine  themselves  somewhat  closely,  would  have  to 
confess,  that  they  could — 0 !  how  readily — retain  all 
their  vanity  and  sensuality,  if  they  could  only  take 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  303 

them  with  them  into  blessedness,  and  remain  the  ser- 
vants of  sin  in  the  realms  of  glory !  But,  I  ask,  is  it 
to  love  God,  when  a  man  only  fears  his  judgments  ? 
Woe  unto  those,  who,  even  in  the  flames  of  hell,  long 
to  flee  the  burning  pangs  of  the  place  of  torment,  but 
care  not  to  flee  from  their  sin !  God's  word  cannot 
lie :  the  damnation  of  man  does  not  cease  one  moment 
sooner  than  his  love  of  sin ;  for  by  that  sin,  the  worm 
that  gnaws  and  dies  not  is  ever  brought  forth  anew. 

Others  among  you  are  sorry  for  your  sin,  because 
you  feel  that  you  might  be  something  better  than  the 
mere  slaves  of  every  passion.  You  repent  of  your 
sin,  indeed,  but  wherefore?  Merely  because  it  hum- 
bles you  in  your  own  eyes.  Friends,  it  is  well  when 
a  man  does  not  require  to  be  ashamed  of  himself;  but 
if  your  only  reason  for  repentance  be  because  you 
cannot  think  so  highly  of  yourselves  as  you  would,  if 
you  arrange  the  matter  of  your  sin  so  entirely  with 
yourself  alone,  and  not  with  your  God;  why,  then, 
that  only  proves  that  pride,  and  nothing  else,  is  the 
source  of  your  repentance.  0  !  with  how  many  tears 
of  penitence  does  a  repentance  like  this — a  repent- 
ance carried  out  so  utterly  without  reference  to  God 
— require  itself  to  be  repented  of?  But,  when,  on 
the  other  hand,  a  heart  becomes  soft  beneath  the 
cross  of  Christ,  0,  how  earnest,  burning,  pure,  are 
the  tears  it  weeps !  And  how  bitter,  too !  For  the 
suff*erings,  which  the  Holy  One  of  God  endured  on 
account  of  our  sins,  teach  us  in  what  light  they  are 
regarded  by  God,  and  open  up  the  deepest  fountains 
of  our  sorrow.     If,  when  he,  who  knew  no  sin,  looked 


304  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.' 

into  the  abyss  of  human  depravity,  all  joy  passed 
away,  so  that  he  must  cry  out,  "My  God,  my  God, 
why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?"  what  shall  the  guilty 
do?  Here,  here  at  the  cross  of  the  Lord,  and  as 
that  cry  of  his  falls  upon  your  ear,  learn  rightly  to 
understand,  what  the  apostle  means  when  he  says, 
"  Know  ye  not  that  as  many  of  you  as  are  baptized 
into  Christ,  are  baptized  into  his  death?"  Know  ye 
not  that  ye  are  baptized  to  the  end  that,  in  the  con- 
templation of  his  sufferings  and  death,  your  old  man 
may  die,  and  that  in  his  resurrection  you  may  rise 
again  ?  You  would  kill  the  old  man  within  you,  but, 
do  with  him  what  you  will,  he  will  not  die;  no,  not 
though  you  torture  and  torment  him,  though  you 
sting  and  consume  him.  In  one  form — in  that  of 
idleness,  for  instance,  or  of  covetousness,  or  of  lust — 
you  have  buried  him ;  but  see,  in  the  form  of  pride 
he  stands  before  you  again.  No;  if  he  is  to  die  at 
all,  he  must  die  in  the  death  of  Christ — in  the  pain 
and  suffering  of  dying  love  must  he  die.  You  know 
of  that  contest  which  the  gentle  sunbeam  once  waged 
with  the  blustering  storm,  as  to  which  should  first 
succeed  in  making  the  traveller  put  off  his  cloak,  and 
how  the  gentle  sunbeam  proved  in  the  end  victorious. 
You  may  storm  away  at  your  old  man,  with  resolu- 
tions and  commands,  but  only  the  soft  ray  of  the  love 
of  Christ  can  make  him  die.  Yes,  Lord,  thy  death 
will  be  the  death  of  the  old  man  in  us!  "Now  if  we 
be  dead  with  Christ,"  says  the  apostle,  "we  believe 
that  we  shall  also  live  with  him."  Yes;  we  not  only 
believe  that,  we  have  experienced  it  ourselves.     Ye 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  305 

who  are  dead  with  Christ,  ye  have  felt  how  in  that 
death  the  power  of  your  resurrection  lies.  In  sorrow 
of  itself  there  is  no  life;  sorrow  is  infirmity;  it  is  a 
paralyzing  of  strength  and  activity;  therefore  says 
the  apostle,  "The  sorrow  of  the  world  worketh 
death."  Ye  who,  till  now,  have  sought  to  mourn 
for  sin,  apart  from  Christ,  have  you  never  experi- 
enced what  a  paralyzing,  enfeebling  thing  such  a 
sorrow  is,  and  how  it  nowise  makes  a  man  stronger  to 
advance  on  his  way.  On  the  contrary,  your  cour- 
age becomes  feebler  and  feebler,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  sting  of  conscience  becomes  more  and  more 
awake.  How  sad  does  the  call  to  forsake  and  deny 
one's  self  sound,  when  one  loves  what  one  is  required 
to  renounce!  How  hard  and  disappointing  do  the 
words  "fight,"  "combat,"  "conquer,"  sound  to  one 
who  has  already  encountered  many  a  defeat !  How 
can  one  make  good  that  which  lies  behind,  when  one 
has  not  even  the  assurance  of  being  able  to  make  that 
which  lies  before  any  better  ?  Sorrow  without  Christ, 
repentance  without  Christ,  is  death.  But  to  repent 
at  the  altar  of  the  cross  of  Christ,  that  is  resurrection, 
that  is  life.  There  is  pleasure  in  every  pang  into 
which  the  thought  of  love  enters,  and  therefore  in 
every  such  pang  there  is  strength.  One  love  deserves 
another !  cries  the  soul,  when  she  has  dried  her  weep- 
ing eyes,  and  goes  forth  and  works.  And  the  work 
which  she  then  has  done,  it  was  for  her  Lord,  and 
from  love  to  him  that  she  did  it.  We  walk  as  dying, 
and  behold  we  live !  Daily  we  die,  and  daily  we  cele- 
brate our  resurrection  from  the  dead!     Our  old  man 


306  SUFFERINGS   AND.  DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

perislieth,  but  our  new  man  is  renewed  day  by  day. 
Like  the  other  children  of  men,  "we  are  troubled  on 
every  side;  but  we  are  not  distressed;  we  are  per- 
plexed, but  not  in  despair;  always  bearing  about  in 
the  body  the  dying  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  that  the  life 
also  of  Jesus  might  be  made  manifest  in  our  body." 
Thus  spake  Paul,  and  there  are  in  the  Church  of  the 
Redeemed  many  thousands  who  can  re-echo  his  words. 
And  thus,  with  us  too,  the  cry  of  lamentation  will  end 
in  joy  and  praise.  Lamentation  marks  the  beginning 
of  our  way,  as  it  opens  the  22d  Psalm;  but  as  that 
psalm  concludes  with  songs  of  rejoicing,  so  shall  hal- 
lelujahs mark  the  triumphant  close  of  our  heavenward 
journey.  To  thee,  0  thou  faithful  Redeemer,  be 
eternal  honour  and  praise,  for  thou  hast  descended  so 
far  down  into  the  depths  of  our  misery,  in  order  that 
thou  mightest  raise  us  up  again  with  thee. 

Alas!  in  this  poor  life 

But  little  I  can  do, 
To  show  my  love  to  Him  who  died 

That  I  might  live  anew. 

But  one  thing  I  will  strive 

With  patience  to  attain — 
That  Jesus'  death  and  sufferings  may 

Still  in  my  heart  remain. 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  307 


SERMON    XIII. 

JESUS   SAITH,    I   THIRST. 

John  xix.  28. — After  this,  Jesus  knowing  that  all  things  were  now 
accomplished,  that  the  Scripture  might  be  fulfilled,  saith,  I  thirst. 

• 

Beneath  the  cross  of  our  Lord  we  have  stood  listen- 
ing to  the  heart-rending  cry  of  lamentation,  in  which, 
under  that  darkened  heaven,  the  deep  sorrow  of  his 
heart  found  utterance.  We  shuddered  as  we  heard 
the  Son  of  God  exclaim,  "Eli,  Eli,  lama  sabach- 
thani?"  but  beneath  the  cross  that  cry  only  called 
forth  renewed  mockery  and  derision.  "This  man 
calleth  for  Elias,"  cried  the  scoffers.  By  this  time 
the  natural  life  of  our  Lord  was  entirely  exhausted 
by  the  long  period  of  uninterrupted  suffering  he  had 
undergone.  Nearly  twenty  hours  had  passed  since 
his  body  had  been  refreshed  by  food ;  and  what  hours 
those  had  been !  Who  shall  tell  the  amount  of  woe 
which  had  passed  over  his  soul,  from  the  time  when 
he  drank  the  cup,  commemorative  of  dying  love,  on 
to  this  moment!  Gethsemane — the  betrayal — the 
examination  before  Annas,  before  Caiaphas,  Pilate, 
and  Herod,  and  before  Pilate  a  second  time — the  way 
to  the  cross — the  six  hours  in  which  he  hung  between 
earth  and  heaven,  his  bleeding  wounds  exposed  to  the 
heat  of  the  mid-day  sun — the  death-struggle  now 
beginning,  and  the  agony  of  his  holy  soul,  so  much 
more  hard  to  bear,  as  it  groaned  beneath  the  load 
of  the  guilt  of  humanity!     "My  strength  is  dried  up 


308  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

like  a  potsherd,  and  my  tongue  cleaveth  to  mj  jaws." 
These  words  were  now  literally  fulfilled.  You  know 
how  much  the  dying  often  suffer  from  thirst.  Jesus 
accordingly  allows  himself  a  slight  physical  refresh- 
ment. The  words  in  which  this  is  stated  are  con- 
tained in  John  xix.  28:  ''After  this,  Jesus  knowing 
that  all  things  were  now  accomplished,  that  the  Scrip- 
ture might  he  fulfilled,  saith,  I  thirst,'' 

Let  us  consider  what  this  cry,  uttered  by  Jesus  in 
such  a  moment,  teaches  us  of  him,  and  what  exhorta- 
tion it  addresses  to  us.  What  it  teaches  us  of  him : 
the  helplessness,  the  voluntariness,  and  the  divine 
necessity  of  his  bitter  sorrow.  What  exhortation  it 
addresses  to  us:  it  exhorts  us  to  resignation  even  in 
our  greatest  need;  to  resoluteness  even  in  the  severest 
trial;  to  humiliation  on  occasion  of  even  the  smallest 
sins. 

0  Christ,  who,  from  love  to  me  didst  cry  upon  the 
cross,  "I  thirst,"  let  refreshing  waters  flow  into  my 
soul  from  that  thirst  of  thine !  If  you  would  experi- 
ence this,  look  here  and  behold,  first,  the  helplessness 
of  the  Son  of  God  in  his  bitter  agony.  This  we  see 
more  clearly  from  this  slight  incident,  than  from  all 
that  precedes.  One  might  witness  a  man  tortured  by 
cruel  tormentors,  and  subjected  to  the  intensest  suf- 
ferings of  which  human  nature  is  susceptible,  and  yet 
not  think  of  him  as  altogether  helpless,  if  only  he  did 
not  give  utterance  to  a  longing  for  relief.  It  is  not 
always  a  sign  of  true  magnanimity,  it  does  not  always 
challenge  unbounded  admiration,  when  a  martyr  suf- 
fers in  silence;  for  silence  is  often  nothing  more  than 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     309 

tlie  sign  of  defiance  and  of  pride.  It  is  only  when 
that  silence  springs  from  repose  in  God — when  the 
suffering  martyr  is  peaceful  and  at  rest  in  him — that 
it  becomes  true  magnanimity.  Now  it  was  this  Divine 
self-possession  that  reigned  in  the  Saviour's  breast. 
This  he  preserved  all  along,  from  the  time  when, 
in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane,  and  amidst  his  chosen 
disciples,  he  allowed  the  pent-up  torrent  of  his  grief, 
for  a  brief  space,  to  take  its  course.  This  he  retained 
as  he  stood  before  Annas,  and  Caiaphas,  and  Pilate, 
and  Herod ;  as  he  bore  his  cross ;  as  he  fought  through 
the  six  weary  hours.  Not  once  all  the  while  did  he 
call  upon  man  for  help;  not  once,  up  to  that  last  cry, 
"Eli!  Eli!"  did  he  utter  a  single  complaint  in  the 
ears  of  men:  of  his  sufferings  he  spoke  only  to  God. 
And  when,  at  the  beginning  of  his  sufferings,  they 
would  give  him  refreshment,  and  handed  to  him  wine 
mingled  with  myrrh,  in  order  thus  to  deaden  the  sense 
of  pain,  he  refused  it.  But  now  Jesus  asks  relief.  He, 
to  whom  men  stretch  forth  their  hands  in  their  time  of 
need,  asks  relief.  And  from  whom  does  he  seek  it? 
From  those  who,  at  that  moment,  alone  could  grant 
him  anything — his  own  executioners — Jesus  suppli- 
cates his  executioners  for  a  draught  to  mitigate  his 
thirst!  Where,  I  ask,  in  all  the  previous  history, 
have  we  seen  a  sadder  picture  of  his  helplessness  than 
is  here  presented?  0!  our  hearts  can  scarce  endure 
to  see  him  brought  so  low.  He  whom  the  heavens 
obey  is  at  the  lowest  verge  of  human  want.  He  whom 
angels  had  served  in  the  wilderness,  who  with  five 
loaves  had  satisfied  five  thousand  men,  cries,  "I 
27 


310  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 

thirst!"  And  yet,  what  a  ray  of  divine  light  falls 
upon  this  extreme  destitution  of  the  Saviour,  when  we 
consider,  at  the  same  time,  with  what  voluntariness 
he  gave  himself  up  to  it. 

You  recollect  how,  at  the  very  commencement  of 
that  night  of  suffering,  when  the  hand  of  the  fiery  dis- 
ciple seized  his  sword,  and,  thrusting  at  the  servant  of 
the  high-priest,  smote  off  his  ear,  Jesus  said  to  him, 
(Matt.  xxvi.  52,)  "Put  up  again  thy  sword  into  its 
place ;  thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  now  pray  to  my 
Father,  and  he  shall  presently  give  me  more  than 
twelve  legions  of  angels."  Never  lose  sight,  I  beseech 
you,  of  the  fact  that  he,  who  there  was  scourged  and 
spat  upon,  who  here  hangs  upon  the  cross,  knew  then, 
and  knows  every  moment  now,  that  troops  of  celestial 
spirits  stand  and  wait  his  nod.  Yes,  in  those  hands 
pierced  by  nails,  the  unseen  sceptre  of  universal  empire 
rests;  in  that  breast,  wrung  by  mortal  agony,  there 
still  dwells  the  consciousness  that  he  is  a  king,  a  king 
who  voluntarily  submits  himself  to  all  the  outrage  and 
all  the  suffering  that  his  rebellious  subjects  inflict  upon 
him.  It  was  of  his  own  free  will,  that  he,  whose  word 
of  omnipotence  had  fed  the  five  thousand  in  the  desert, 
descended  so  low  as  to  cry  to  men,  ay,  and  these  men 
his  own  executioners  too,  "I  thirst !"  And  what  does 
this  voluntariness  indicate  ?  Why  does  he  freely  submit 
to  all,  not  seeking  to  deliver  himself  from  those  waves 
of  tribulation  which  are  closing  together  over  his  head  ? 
Now  if  he  who  endures  all  this,  so  spontaneously,  holds 
in  his  pierced  hand  the  invisible  sceptre,  if  he  freely 
allows  himself  to  be  reduced  to  such  extremity,  surely 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  311 

this  appears  to  point  us  to  some  sacred,  some  myste- 
rious necessity,  according  to  which  men  could  not  have 
been  redeemed  otherwise  than  by  a  suffering  Saviour, 
by  a  Saviour  who,  in  the  form  of  a  servant,  should 
descend  into  the  very  lowest  depths  of  humiliation. 

And  thus,  this  saying  of  Scripture  points  us  to  the 
necessity  of  his  sufferings.  He  had  previously  refused 
to  receive  the  stupifying  drug  which  was  given  out  of 
mercy  to  the  crucified,  in  order  to  render  them  insensi- 
ble to  the  intense  agony  of  the  cross.  In  this  he  showed 
that  he  would  drink  to  the  very  dregs  the  bitter  cup 
which  his  Father  had  given  him.  He  thereby  declared 
that  there  was  a  divine  necessity,  in  accordance  with 
which  he  must  descend  into  the  blackest  night  of  sorrow. 
He  would  drink,  you  see,  the  whole  cup  of  affliction, 
and  would  drink  it  in  the  fullest  consciousness.  Those 
words,  "It  is  finished,"  with  which  he  bowed  his  head 
and  gave  up  the  ghost,  were  doubtless  spoken  with 
reference  to  the  whole  work  which,  whether  by  doing 
or  by  suffering,  he  had  completed  on  the  earth.  It 
was,  however,  chiefly  of  that  great  crowning  act  of 
suffering  that  he  said,  "It  is  finished."  It  seems  as 
if  in  uttering  that  cry  he  removes  from  his  lips  the 
bitter  cup,  after  having  drained  it  to  the  very  dregs. 
Now,  this  is  also  expressly  said  in  the  words  of  our 
text.  We  read  that  it  was  when  Jesus  knew  that  all 
things  were  accomplished,  and  not  before,  that  he 
allowed  himself  that  refreshment,  and  cried,  "I  thirst!" 
Herein  is  expressed,  moreover,  as  we  said,  the  stern 
necessity  of  his  sufferings.  Here,  again,  that  "must" 
i5omes   in — that  stern   and  inflexible    necessity — of 


312  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

which  he  had  spoken  previously,  when  he  said,  "  So 
must  the  Son  of  Man  be  lifted  up;"  and  again,  after 
his  resurrection,  when  cross  and  sufferings  were  over, 
when  he  said,  ''Must  not  Christ  have  suffered  these 
things?"  And  why  must  Christ  have  suffered  all 
these  things?  The  answer  is  twofold:  as  the  Propi- 
tiation for  our  sins,  and  as  the  Pattern  of  our  right- 
eousness. 

As  the  Propitiation  for  our  sms,  Christ  must  suffer 
these  things.  Sin  demands  punishment.  This  truth 
is  written  in  the  word  of  God,  it  is  inscribed  in  our 
own  conscience.  In  exact  proportion  to  the  sin  we 
have  committed  in  our  lives,  is  the  punishment  which 
we  deserve.  There  is  no  making  amends  for  the  evil 
we  have  done,  for  every  day  has  its  own  claims  upon 
us,  and  allows  us  no  time,  even  if  we  had  the  power, 
to  wash  away  the  guilt  of  yesterday.  Sinners,  do  not 
imagine  that  your  weak  obedience  of  to-day  can  atone 
for  the  sins  of  yesterday.  What  is  done,  is  done; 
your  committed  sins  stand  out  before  your  conscience, 
and  cannot  be  destroyed  by  anything  you  can  do ;  and 
thus  they  stand  out  also  before  your  God.  Yes,  they 
are  indestructible,  for  conscience  has  a  memory  in 
which  many  things  may  grow  dim,  but  from  which 
nothing  can  entirely  pass  away.  In  another  world, 
where  self-deception  is  no  longer  possible,  the  dim 
picture  of  your  conscience  will  be  retouched  with  fresh 
colouring,  and  all  that  has  been  traced  there  will  come 
out  with  fearful  distinctness.  There  will  then  rise  up 
before  the  mfemory  of  your  conscience,  your  sins  of 
thoughtlessness,  your  broken  vows,  the  powers  you 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     313 

have  thrown  away,  the  seasons  of  grace  you  have 
neglected  to  improve.  There  you  will  recognize  all 
the  transgressions  and  all  the  omissions  of  the  divine 
law,  which  have  marked  your  earthly  day,  now  gone 
by  for  ever ;  and  you  will  feel,  with  awful  power,  that 
these  sins  were  not  sins  against  yourself  merely,  not 
merely  sins  against  other  men,  no,  you  will  then 
acknowledge  that  they  were  sins  against  God.  And 
what  if  in  that  day  your  only  cry  is.  The  past  is  past ; 
there  is  no  help  for  it  now !  Sinners,  as  your  sins 
stand  out  before  your  conscience,  so  they  stand  out 
also  before  God,  and  no  to-day  can  wash  away  the 
guilt  of  yesterday !  Now  it  is  just  because  no  man 
can  by  his  weak  virtues  in  the  present  make  atone- 
ment for  the  faults  of  the  past,  it  is  because  conscience 
cannot  allow  the  sin  of  any  man  to  be  forgiven  with- 
out first  being  punished,  that  it  was  not  enough  in 
God  merely  to  proclaim  forgiveness  of  sins,  and  to 
announce  to  men  by  a  decree  of  Omnipotence,  that 
their  iniquities  were  blotted  out  for  ever.  No:  some- 
thing more  was  necessary.  It  was  necessary  that  he, 
who  knew  no  sin,  should  die  the  death  of  the  trans- 
gressor, in  order  that  in  his  sufferings  guilty  men 
might  feel  what  their  sins  deserved,  and  that  believing 
men  might  find  peace  of  conscience  in  the  fellowship 
of  his  sufferings.  Thoughtless  humanity,  sin  is  no 
trifling  matter ;  it  is  the  violation  of  a  Divine,  an  eter- 
nal law,  it  is  the  disturbance  of  a  Divine  and  sacred 
order.  Therefore  no  sin  can  be  forgiven  thee  with 
regard  to  which  thou  dost  not  feel,  that  what  gives  it 
its  sting  is  this,  that  it  lifts  itself  up  in  opposition  to 
27* 


314  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

the  law  of  thy  God.  And  therefore  can  there  be  no 
forgiveness  for  thee,  even  in  Christ,  unless  thou,  as 
often  as  thou  hast  recourse  to  his  grace,  dost  feel 
in  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings,  what  thy  sin  de- 
serves. 

Further,  I  say,  Christ  must  suffer  these  things  as 
the  Pattern  of  our  righteousness.     We  need  a  spot- 
less exemplar  in  all  our  doing  and  working,  one  which 
shall  draw  us  heavenwards,  so  often  as  we  are  in  dan- 
ger of  sinking  in  the  dust  and  turmoil  of  life ;  and  we 
need  a  spotless,  holy  exemplar  for  our  hours  of  suffer- 
ing.    Actions  done  in  a  way  truly  well-pleasing  to 
God  are  indeed  rare,  but  how  much  rarer  is  it  to  see 
sufferings    endured    in    a   way  well-pleasing  to    him. 
Indeed,  I  know  not  if  I  may  not  say,  that  it  is  for  all 
of  us  a  much  harder  thing  to  suffer  according  to  the 
will  of  God,  than  to  act.    Might  we  not  all  with  truth 
affirm,  that  it  was  in  our  hours  of  suffering  that  we 
first  experienced  what  a  want  of  confidence  in  God, 
and  what  a  perverseness  against  him,  dwells  in  the 
human  heart.     And  therefore  I  will  cry  to  the  cross 
of  Christ,   "Hail,  hail,  thou  cross  of  my  Lord,  for  it 
was  thou  that  first  didst  teach  me  how  men  may  suffer 
in  a  way  well-pleasing  to  God !     0  thou  dear,  sacred 
symbol  of  Christendom,  how  hast  thou  during  these 
well-nigh  two  thousand  years,  which  have  passed  since 
thou  wast  planted  on  the  earth,  how  hast  thou  brought 
down  the  powers  of  heaven  to  the  help  of  mortals  in 
their  hours  of  affliction.     How  many  a  rising  storm 
and  whirlwind  of  the  agitated  heart  has  the  sight  of 
thee  laid  to  rest  ?     In  the  chamber  of  sickness,  in  the 


SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST.  315 

prison,  in  the  hospital,  on  the  field  of  battle,  how  have 
oil  and  wine  flowed  from  thee  into  the  wounds  of  men  !" 
0  do  not  despise  the  crucifix !  It  is  the  sign  of  suf- 
fering and  of  dying  love,  and  reminds  man  of  that 
great  example  who  showed  him  how  he  should  sufi'er 
and  how  he  should  die.  Rather  let  the  sacred  symbol 
be  hung  up  in  every  sick-room,  in  every  hospital,  in 
every  prison,  that  it  may  there  in  silence  teach  men 
to  suffer  in  a  way  well-pleasing  to  God !  Thus  Christ 
must  have  suifered  these  things  to  this  end  also,  that 
in  those  hours  when  the  heart  is  most  desponding,  in 
the  hours  of  darkness  and  afiliction,  we  may  confide 
in  the  fellowship  of  his  sufi*erings,  and  that  our  diso- 
bedient heart  may  find  a  pattern  in  his  holy  obe- 
dience. 

And  therefore  shall  this  word  uttered  by  the  Sa- 
viour on  the  cross  become  to  us  a  word  of  exhortation. 
It  shall  exhort  us  to  resignation  even  in  our  greatest 
need,  to  resoluteness  even  in  our  severest  trial,  to  hu- 
miliation on  occasion  of  even  the  smallest  sins. 

That  word  of  the  Saviour  upon  the  cross,  which 
discloses  to  us  how  extreme  his  helplessness  was,  should 
make  our  hearts  resigned  and  obedient  in  our  time  of 
greatest  helplessness  and  need.  0  my  friends,  we 
should  all  be  contented  and  happy,  if  we  did  not  enter 
upon  life,  making  upon  it  so  many  unwarrantable 
claims.  We  demand  of  life  enjoyment  as  our  right, 
hence  we  are  not  grateful  for  it  when  it  is  given 
us  out  of  grace;  hence,  moreover,  when  God  de- 
nies it  us,  our  froward  heart  thinks  it  is  entitled 
to  murmur.     Christians,  forget  not,  I  beseech  you, 


316  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

that  you  have  come  into  this  life,  to  the  end  not  that 
ye  might  enjoy  it,  but  that  in  it  ye  might  be  trained 
for  another  and  a  better  life.  Now,  you  think  it  a 
strange  thing  that  days  of  darkness  should  ever  cross 
your  path ;  but  if  you  held  fast  this  truth,  and  bore 
constantly  in  mind  that  you  are  upon  the  earth  in 
order  to  be  educated  here  for  heaven,  ye  would  rather 
expect  your  present  lot  to  be  one  of  tribulation  and 
suffering,  according  to  those  words  of  Peter,  when  he 
says,  "  Beloved,  count  it  not  strange  concerning  the 
fiery  trial,  which  is  to  try  you,  as  though  some  strange 
thing  happened  unto  you;  but  rejoice,  inasmuch  as 
ye  are  partakers  of  Christ's  sufferings."  And,  in- 
deed, they  alone  are  true  Christians,  who  are  in  so 
close  a  fellowship  with  their  Saviour,  that  they  do  not 
look  for  any  other  treatment  in  the  world  than  that 
which  he  received;  even  as  John  writes  in  his  Epistle, 
"As  he  was  in  the  world,  so  are  we  in  the  world:" 
and  thus  they  make  up  their  minds  not  to  expect  the 
favour  and  approbation  of  a  world,  which  bestowed 
only  its  hatred  upon  him,  or  that  for  them  there  will 
be  only  laughter,  where  he  often  wept,  or  that  they 
will  be  garlanded  with  roses,  where  their  Saviour 
was  crowned  with  thorns.  And,  indeed,  the  resigna- 
tion which  they  are  called  to  practise  is  not  so  diffi- 
cult for  them,  for  love  makes  it  easy.  For  love 
implies  also  fellowship  with  the  sufferings  of  the 
object  loved,  and  thus  believers  are  happy  even  in 
tribulation,  because  they  experience  in  all  their  suf- 
ferings fellowship  with  their  Lord.  Jesus  willingly 
descended  even  into  that  state  of  extreme  wantj  of 


SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF   CHRIST.  317 

which  we  read  in  the  text ;  Jesus  suffered  nakedness, 
hunger,  and  thirst  to  pass   over   him,  in   order   that 
men,   even  in   circumstances   of   extreme   destitution, 
might  be  able  to  draw  consolation  amid  their  trials 
from  the  thought  of  the  fellowship  of  his  sufferings. 
He  became  poor,  in  order  that  the  poor  might  take 
comfort  in  the  thought  that  he  shared  their  poverty. 
He  let  himself  be  bound,  that  the  captive  might  be 
comforted  in  fellowship  with  him.     He  endured  the 
burning  fever,  he  underwent  the  agony  of  death,  in 
order  that  the  sick  and  the  dying  might  draw  their 
consolation  from  the  thought  of  fellowship  with  him. 
0,  how  painless  do  all  the  thorns  of  affliction  become, 
when   one  views   them   as   forming   a  portion  of  his 
crown   of  thorns;    how    much   more    easily  is  every 
burden  borne,  which  one  regards  as  part  of  the  cross 
of  Christ;  and  the  fainting  soul  cries  ''I  thirst"  with 
a  less  heavy  heart,  when  it  knows  that  it  is  only  echo- 
ing back  the  voice  of  its  dying  Saviour!     But  remem- 
ber, if  we  would  understand  the  mystery  of  the  fel- 
lowship of  his  sufferings,  it  is  above  all  things  neces- 
sary that  we  love  him,  for  it  is  only  love  that  knows 
how  to  rejoice  in  the  blessed  sympathy  of  suffering. 

Observe,  further,  how  this  cry  of  our  Lord  exhorts 
us  to  resoluteness  in  the  severest  trial.  Until  he 
knew  that  all  things  were  accomplished,  he  restrained 
every  expression  of  his  distress.  Children  of  afflic- 
tion, ye  are  too  feeble!  Doubtless,  it  is  human  for  a 
man  to  seek  to  share  his  sorrow  with  one  he  loves. 
And,  therefore,  our  Lord  himself  had  an  hour  when 
he  could  say  to  his  faithful  disciples,  "My  soul  is  sor- 


318  SUFFERINGS    AND    DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

rowful,  even  unto  death,"  and  could  ask  them  to 
watch  and  pray  with  him.  But  those  men  were  the 
men  of  the  Saviour's  heart,  and  even  their  sympathy 
he  sought  only  for  one  hour.  The  rest  of  the  time  he 
spoke  of  his  sorrow  alone  with  his  God.  0  beloved, 
ye  make  too  much  of  your  afflictions  in  saying  so 
much  about  them  to  men,  and  so  little  to  God.  It  is 
because  people  will  not  learn  to  suffer  in  silence 
before  the  Lord,  that  one  trial  after  another  comes  to 
many  a  soul,  without  affecting  it  any  more  than  the 
stones  of  the  street  are  affected  by  the  sun  and  the 
rain.  This  is  the  real  cause  of  our  afflictions  bearing 
so  little  fruit.  You  must  learn  to  understand  the 
meaning  of  these  words,  "Possessing  the  soul  in 
quietness  before  the  Lord.'*  Do  you  know  what 
Luther  says,  "Suffer  and  be  still,  tell  no  man  thy 
sorrow,  trust  in  God,  his  help  will  not  fail  thee.'* 
This  is  what  Scripture  calls  "keeping  silence  before 
God."  To  talk  much  of  one's  afflictions  to  men 
makes  one  weak  and  unmanly;  but  to  tell  one's  sor- 
rows to  him  who  seeth  in  secret,  makes  one  strong 
and  calm.  Your  fire  of  tribulation  is  like  a  flickering 
flame,  which  the  wind  drives  to  and  fro ;  but  do  but 
carry  it  in  secret  before  the  Lord,  and  it  will  become 
a  fire  of  sacrifice  which  will  peacefully  ascend  to 
heaven.  0  that  from  him,  who  for  six  long  weary 
hours  upon  the  cross,  was  silent  before  his  God,  we 
might  learn  what  it  is  to  keep  silence  before  God  in 
our  affliction.  We  would  then  be  much  more  able 
to  bear  it. 
Finally,  this  saying  of  Jesus  on  the  cross  exhorts 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  319 

US  to  humiliation  on  occasion  of  even  the  smallest 
sins.     Fellow-Christians,  if  Christ  must  have  suffered 
all  these  things,  in  order  to  show  us  how  deeply  sin  is 
opposed  to  the  law  of  God,  and  what,  as^  sinners,  we 
have  deserved,  can  we  any  more  make  light  of  sin? 
Formerly,  when  I  knew  little  about  the  nature  of  sin, 
and  thought  of  it  merely  as  the  transgression  of  a  law 
which  I  had  imposed   upon   myself,  how  unmolested 
did  I  allow  the  evil  thought  to  riot  in  my  breast,  how 
lightly  did  I  permit  the  idle  words  to  flow  from  my 
•lips,  how  little  did  I  concern  myself  about  those  sins 
of  omission  which  marked  every  day  of  my  life !    But 
now,  when  I  behold  the  cross  of  Calvary,  and  hear  it 
proclaim  to  me,  and  to  all  the  world,  what  sin  is  in  the 
sight  of  God ;  when,  in  the  bitter  experience  of  my 
own  corrupt  heart,  I  begin  to  see  what  sin  is,  ah !  now 
it  is  that  conscience  awakes  from  its  slumbers;  now  it 
is  that  even  my  smallest    sins   burn   in  my  breast. 
Against  thee,  0  Lord,  against  thee  only  have  I  sinned, 
do  I  cry;  and  the  sin  which  required  such  an  expia- 
tion by  thee,  I  shall  never  more  make  light  of.     0 
Lord  Jesus,  thy  cross   shall  teach  me  every  day  to 
know  the  true  import  of  my  sin.     Yes,  I  will  praise 
thee,  that  thou  hast  purchased  an  eternal  forgiveness 
for  my  sins;  I  will,  since  I  dare,  daily  supplicate  thee 
for  grace  upon  grace;  but  never,  never,  will  I  draw 
consolation  from  grace,  without  feeling  and  acknow- 
ledging anew,  in  memory  of  thy  sufferings,  what  my 
sins  have   deserved  from  thee.     Lord  Jesus,  let  thy 
strength  be  made  perfect  in  my  weakness  !    Amen. 


320  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH    OF   CHRIST. 


SERMON   XIV. 

THE    DEATH    OF    JESUS. 

John  xix.  30. — When  Jesus  therefore  had  received  the  vinegar,  he 
said,  It  is  finished:  and  he  bowed  his  head,  and  gave  up  the 
ghost. 

Beloved  in  the  Lord: — We  shall  consider  to-day 
that  portion  of  the  sacred  narrative  which  immedi- 
ately follows  the  text  of  our  last  meditation.  The 
Lord,  knowing  that  all  that  the  Father  had  given  him 
to  suffer  was  accomplished,  had  allowed  himself  the 
slight  refreshment  of  a  little  vinegar  to  cool  his 
parched  lips.  And  now  we  read,  John  xix.  30: 
"  WTien  Jesus  therefore  had  received  the  vinegar,  he 
saidy  It  is  finished:  and  he  bowed  his  head,  and 
gave  up  the  ghost.'' 

"It  is  finished."  Such  were  the  last  words  of  the 
dying  Saviour.  And  what  do  these  words  teach  us 
of  him?  They  teach  us  that  he  had  accomplished  a 
great,  a  divine  mission;  that  he  had  performed  a 
difficult  task,  and  that  the  end  of  his  work  was 
blessed.  As  Jesus  dies,  all  is  so  peaceful  and  serene 
in  him;  and  the  holy  calm  which  reigns  around  the 
parting  spirit  is  transfused  to  our  own  soul.  So  that 
when,  in  reading  the  evangelical  narrative,  one  comes 
to  this  passage,  a  feeling  of  tranquillity  and  calm  is 
diffused  over  one's  heart.  But  the  feeling  which 
these  words  call  forth,  is  not  merely  a  feeling  of  the 
repose  of  Jesus  in  death ;  it  is  also  one  of  the  blessed- 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF    CHRIST.  321 

ness  of  his  death.  It  is  a  blessed  thing  to  die  with 
such  an  ''It  is  finished"  upon  the  lips.  And  the 
question  which  arises  in  our  minds,  as  we  contem- 
plate such  a  scene  is,  In  what  way  can  /  hope  to 
attain  a  death  so  blessed?  And  to  this  question  I 
will  answer:  By  ever  living  in  the  strong  conviction 
that  we  too  have  in  life  a  great,  a  divine  mission  to 
accomplish,  and  work  to  perform;  hy  heing  ever 
ready  to  perform  that  worh,  to  accomplish  that  mis- 
sion, even  at  the  expense  of  the  most  painful  sacri- 
fices, and  hy  deriving  strength  and  consolation  from 
these  words  of  our  dying  Saviour,  ''It  is  finished,'' 

That  Jesus  had  a  great  and  divine  mission,  to  accom- 
plish, we  learn  especially  from  these  words,  "It  is 
finished."  On  what  occasion  do  we  utter  these  words  ? 
Not  when  the  task  we  have  finished  is  of  small  import- 
ance, for  then  we  scarcely  ourselves  mark  its  comple- 
tion ;  but  only  when  we  have  brought  to  a  termination 
some  great,  important  work — a  work  on  behalf  of 
which,  so  long  as  we  were  engaged  with  it,  the  sym- 
pathy and  attention  of  the  whole  soul  were  enlisted. 
Now,  all  the  occupations  we  engage  in  ought  in  one 
sense  to  be  divine,  to  be  of  God,  for  one  is  our  Mas- 
ter, and  all  we  do  should  be  done  in  his  service.  But 
alas !  we  have  often  two  masters ;  and,  indeed,  there 
are  some  of  whom  it  may  be  said,  that  they  have  as 
many  masters  as  they  have  strong  inclinations.  In 
the  case  of  many,  what  pleasure  or  fancy  dictates,  the 
act  obeys.  Now  Christ  never,  in  any  one  action  of 
his  life,  performed  his  own  will.  "I  came  down  from 
heaven  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  him 
28 


322  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

that  sent  me."  "My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  him 
that  sent  me."  Thus  the  work  which  he  was  sensi- 
hle  of  having  accomplished,  when  he  cried,  "It  is 
finished,"  was  also  a  work  of  God.  And  what  was 
that  work?  In  order  to  answer  the  question  aright, 
we  must  bear  in  mind,  that  he  who  in  his  last  moments, 
as  he  stands  on  the  boundary  which  separates  this 
world  from  the  world  beyond,  exclaims,  "It  is  fin- 
ished," could  not  then  be  thinking  of  any  particular 
actions  of  his  life.  On  the  contrary,  his  thoughts 
would  be  turned  upon  that  one  work  to  which  all 
others  were  subordinate,  and  which  formed  in  a  special 
way  the  work  of  his  life.  And  Jesus  had  a  life-work 
to  perform.  Listen  to  his  words  in  that  passage  of 
the  intercessory  prayer,  where,  speaking  as  one  already 
glorified,  he  seems  to  cast  a  glance  over  his  whole 
earthly  work:  "Father,  I  have  glorified  thee  upon 
the  earth,  I  have  finished  the  work  which  thou  gavest 
me  to  do.  I  have  manifested  thy  name  unto  the  men 
which  thou  gavest  me  out  of  the  world."  The  busi- 
ness of  his  life  was,  thus,  to  manifest  the  name  of 
God.  A  name  is  that  by  means  of  which  we  desig- 
nate and  characterize  ourselves  for  the  sake  of  others ; 
hence  that  name  is  the  best  selected  which  gives 
expression  to  the  most  marked  and  striking  feature  in 
the  nature  of  the  person  named.  The  name  of  God 
had  long  been  inquired  after  by  the  nations  of  the 
earth.  They  had  applied  to  the  Infinite  a  thousand 
names,  without  ever  finding  one  by  which  rightly  to 
characterize  him.  Now  Christ  has  revealed  the  name 
of  God :  he  has  revealed  it  by  his  words  and  by  his 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  323 

works,  in  Ms  life  and  in  his  sufferings.  This  was  the 
work  which  was  concluded  when  he  cried,  "It  is 
finished."  Let  us,  however,  direct  our  attention  to 
what  the  Evangelist  says  a  little  further  back;  he 
tells  us  that  Jesus  had  cried,  "I  thirst,"  "knowing 
that  all  things  were  now  accomplished."  In  this 
place,  the  "all  things"  which  had  been  accomplished 
before  Jesus  spoke,  refer  especially  to  the  work  of 
suffering,  as  the  closing  work  of  his  life.  Are  we 
then  in  error  when  we  affirm,  that  this  work  of  suffer- 
ering  was  likewise  in  the  Saviour's  view  when  he  said, 
"It  is  finished;"  nay,  that  these  words  chiefly  refer  to 
that  work  of  suff"ering  ?  For,  were  not  his  sufferings 
a  revelation  of  the  name  of  God  ?  Were  they  not  so 
in  a  preeminent  degree  ?  And  may  we  not,  in  the 
dark  cloud  that  hung  over  the  cross,  read  the  bright 
inscription,  "  Giod  was  in  Christ,  reconciling  the 
world  unto  himself  f  This,  then,  was  the  great,  the 
divine  work  which  Christ  had  completed  when  he  cried, 
"It  is  finished." 

And  that  was  a  task  which  could  not  be  accom- 
plished otherwise  than  at  the  cost  of  an  incalculable 
sacrifice.  Call  to  mind  the  hours  of  your  life  when 
you  have  exclaimed,  "It  is  finished,"  and  you  will 
find  that,  for  the  most  part,  they  were  occasions  in 
which  you  had  completed  at  heavy  cost  some  severe 
task.  How  often  have  you  cried,  "It  is  finished,"  in 
the  spirit  of  the  pilgrim  who,  after  a  long  and  ardu- 
ous journey,  at  length  crosses  the  threshold  of  his 
father's  house !  The  Lord  had  completed  an  arduous 
work.     For  we  must  not  confine  our  thoughts  to  the 


324  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH    OF    CHRIST. 

last  hours  of  his  life,  Trhen  we  speak  of  the  sufTerings 
which  his  love  underwent.  The  path  of  affliction 
w^hich  he  trod  was  as  long  as  the  course  of  his  mortal 
life.  Think  of  him  in  his  daily  intercourse  with  the 
outcast  of  his  people,  with  publicans  and  sinners,  with 
hypocrites  and  adulterers,  with  lepers  and  epileptics, 
with  blind  and  lame.  And  think  at  the  same  time  of 
the  loving  heart  which  made  the  sorrow  of  all,  as  well 
as  the  guilt  of  all,  its  own !  That  depth  of  sorrow 
which  ever  dwelt  in  his  spirit  was  but  rarely  told  to 
human  ear — in  general  he  carried  it  before  his  Father 
in  heaven;  but  on  one  occasion  it  does  break  out, 
when  he  cries,  "  0  faithless  generation,  how  long  shall 
I  be  with  you !"  That  cry  was  wrung  from  him  by  the 
thought  of  how  little  living  faith  in  God  there  is  among 
men.  See  here  what  a  difference  there  is  between  you 
and  the  holy  Jesus !  How  many  are  there  among  you, 
let  me  inquire,  who  feel  that,  among  the  many  pain- 
ful circumstances  of  life,  there  is  nothing  so  sad  as 
the  thought  of  how  little  living  faith  in  God  there  is  to 
be  found  among  one's  brothers  and  friends,  in  father, 
mother,  child,  or  spouse?  If,  even  in  the  ministry, 
there  are  so  many  who  can  live  contented  and  at  ease, 
never  allowing  themselves  to  be  disturbed  by  an 
anxious  thought,  as  to  whether  there  is  much  or  little 
faith  in  God  in  their  congregation,  how  can  it  be  other- 
wise with  the  people !  If  even  many  pastors  do  not 
understand  that  expression  which  is  used  of  the  Sa- 
viour, that  "he  was  grieved  for  the  people,"  and  have 
no  idea  of  this  grief  for  men  that  are  living  without 
God,  how  can  others  be  expected  to  understand  and 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  325 

sympatliize  in  this  holy  sorrow  ?  Alas !  I  fear  that 
loving  sorrow,  which,  throughout  all  his  earthly  life, 
the  Man  of  sorrows  felt  for  the  woes  and  wickedness 
of  men,  is  to  many  of  us  a  thing  quite  incomprehensi- 
ble. Hence  we  cannot  understand  how  severe  the  task 
which  he  had  to  perform  was.  In  his  lifetime,  it 
could  be  seen  but  rarely  how  severe  he  felt  it ;  but  we 
see  it  now  in  his  death;  and  as  he  cries,  "It  is  fin- 
ished," the  soul  breathes  free,  for  while  feeling  how 
hard  it  must  have  been  for  him,  we  are  at  the  same 
time  sensible,  to  some  extent,  how  easy  it  now  is. 

For  the  "It  is  finished,"  which  marks  the  close  of 
a  great  work,  and  one  which  has  demanded  many 
sacrifices,  is  always  at  the  same  time  a  Messed  "It  is 
finished."  The  moments  in  which  we  have  exclaimed 
"It  is  finished,"  have  always  had  something  sooth- 
ing and  satisfactory  for  us,  even  when  the  work  which 
we  had  brought  to  completion  was  one  performed 
in  our  own  service,  on  our  own  account.  But  if  one 
of  us  have  at  any  time  in  our  life  had  occasion  to  ex- 
claim "It  is  finished,"  after  some  hard,  self-denying 
task  undertaken  and  achieved,  not  on  our  own  ac- 
count, but  in  the  loving  service  of  others — surely  in 
such  an  "It  is  finished"  there  is  something  very 
blessed.  This  is  the  charm  of  self-sacrificing  charity ; 
this  the  power  to  bless  of  ministering  love.  And  he 
who  became  poor  to  make  us  rich,  who  came  into  the 
world,  not  to  be  ministered  unto,  but  to  minister,  what 
did  he  in  his  whole  life  seek  or  do  for  himself?  Hence, 
when  at  the  end  of  his  life  he  cried,  "It  is  finished," 
it  was  a  blessed  finishing,  blessed  beyond  all  measure, 
28* 


326  SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

for  he  then  saw  in  spirit  the  fruit  of  his  long  and 
arduous  work  of  love,  as  the  prophet  had  foretold: 
"Because  he  has  made  his  soul  an  offering  for  sin,  he 
shall  see  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  and  shall  be  satis- 
fied— therefore  will  I  divide  him  a  portion  with  the 
great,  and  he  shall  divide  the  spoil  with  the  strong." 
(Isaiah  liii.  10.)  He  sees  of  the  travail  of  his  soul, 
and  is  satisfied ;  and  where  did  he  ever  find  his  pre- 
sence and  satisfaction  hut  in  giving  relief  to  the 
wretched,  and  rest  to  the  weary?  And  now  he  sees 
how  the  cross,  the  memorial  of  his  sufferings,  becomes 
the  symbol  of  grace,  at  the  sight  of  which  the  weary 
find  rest,  and  the  heavy-laden  throw  away  their  burden. 
He  feels  that  he  has  given  to  men  that  bread  of  life 
which  satisfies,  not  merely  during  the  brief  span  of 
time,  but  which  to  eternity  will  fill  them  with  the  very 
fulness  of  God,  which  is  in  Him.  And  the  fruits  of 
his  travail  are  as  immeasurable  in  space  as  their  efii- 
cacy  is  unlimited  in  duration ;  and  before  his  view  he 
beholds  the  multitude  become  a  prey,  and  he  numbers 
his  subjects  by  nations  and  by  races.  And  among  his 
captives  there  are  strong  ones,  who,  after  a  long  and 
desperate  resistance,  are  at  last  compelled  to  bow  the 
knee  before  him.  An  impetuous  Saul  is  changed  into 
a  Paul,  when  his  hour  has  come;  the  strong  spirit  of 
an  Augustine,  after  he  has  escaped  from  many  a  net 
of  love,  is  in  the  end  forced  to  exclaim,  "Thou  art  too 
strong  for  me,  thou  hast  conquered;"  and  a  Luther, 
after  he  has  been  brought  to  feel  that  his  own  right- 
eousness is  no  better  than  filthy  rags,  at  last  joyfully 
exclaims,  "Christ  is  my  righteousness!" 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  327 

Was  it  not  blessed  thus  to  die  ?  0  that  one  might 
pass  away,  when  his  last  hour  is  come,  with  an  "It  is 
finished"  like  that  upon  his  lips!  Beloyed,  most  of 
you  are  still  in  the  bloom  of  years,  and  cannot  realize 
so  vividly  that  final  goal  which  will  terminate  the 
mortal  life  of  all  of  us.  But  if  you  do  earnestly  desire 
to  die  with  such  words  as  these  upon  your  lips,  if  you 
seriously  wish  that  your  latter  end  may  be  like  His, 
there  is  one  thing  which  you  must  constantly  keep 
before  your  view;  and  it  is  this,  tliat  ive  have,  every 
one  of  us,  a  great,  a  Ciod-given  work  to  do  in  life. 
And  the  work  which  we  have  to  do,  is  just  that  which 
Christ  has  accomplished  before  us ;  for  our  mission  in 
the  world  is  no  other  than  his  was,  namely,  to  declare 
the  name  of  God,  according  to  his  word,  and  in  his 
spirit.  All  the  separate  tasks  we  have  to  perform  in 
our  calling,  are  only  so  many  difierent  opportunities 
afi'orded  us  of  manifesting  the  name  of  the  Father  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  If  the  love  of  God  be  the 
ruling  motive  in  our  daily  life,  if  his  will  be  our  law, 
his  honour  our  end,  there  will  rest  even  upon  the 
dullest  and  most  trivial  work  we  perform,  a  light  from 
heaven  to  ennoble  and  to  glorify  it;  for  God,  who 
rules  in  us,  will  by  our  actions  make  himself  known  to 
men.  You  have  not  imposed  upon  yourselves  the  work 
of  your  life ;  it  is  God  who  has  imposed  it  upon  you. 
0,  let  this  thought  never  slip  from  your  mind !  Seen 
in  its  light,  every  work  in  which  you  engage  must 
appear  great,  however  little  in  itself  it  may  be.  Every 
task  which  God  has  given  you  to  perform,  must  be  a 
matter  of  moment  to  you,  for  every  such  task  is  a 


328  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

token  of  grace:  it  is  something  that  the  King  of 
heaven  and  of  earth  has  chosen  us  to  do  for  him. 
When  a  man  comes  to  do  his  daily  task  in  the  spirit 
of  a  faith  like  this,  the  curse  which  rests  upon  our 
lahour  is  taken  away,  and  transmuted  into  a  blessing. 
We  think  an  honour  is  conferred  on  us,  when  we 
receive  a  commission,  however  small,  to  discharge  for 
some  great  one  of  the  earth,  just  because  he  who  gave 
it  is  so  great,  and  we  apply  ourselves  with  alacrity 
and  pleasure  to  the  task  he  assigns  us.  And  shall  we 
not  feel  it  a  blessed  privilege  that  it  is  permitted  us  to 
perform  the  work  of  God?  Therefore  I  say  to  those 
of  you  who  wish  one  day  to  be  able  to  utter  a  blessed 
"It  is  finished,"  never  for  a  moment  let  out  of  your 
thoughts  the  great  fact,  that  you  have  a  work  of  God 
to  do  upon  the  earth. 

Then,  even  should  that  work  call  upon  you  for 
many  heavy  sacrifices,  so  long  as  you  have  before  you 
that  thought,  you  will  be  ready  to  make  them  all. 
Certainly,  to  fulfil  the  mission  which  Christ  has  ap- 
pointed us,  is  no  easy  task.  If  any  one  of  you  fancy 
he  is  engaged  in  performing  it,  and  has  hitherto  found 
it  easy,  if  he  imagines  it  to  be  a  process  that  can  go 
on  altogether  independently  of  any  care  on  his  part, 
that  man  has,  I  fear,  never  known  what  his  mission 
really  is.  He  who  has  never  spent  sleepless  nights 
and  wept  bitter  tears  over  the  problem  of  his  destiny, 
over  the  mission  given  him  to  accomplish,  has  never 
yet  rightly  understood  that  problem,  and  is  still  in 
ignorance  concerning  even  the  true  nature  of  that  mis- 
sion.   In  some  passages  of  the  Bible,  our  Lord  speaks 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  329 

with  awful  earnestness  of  tlie  difficulty  of  this  work ; 
and,  certain  I  am,  there  are  many  who  now  go  uncon- 
cerned, imagining  themselves  to  be  very  good  Chris- 
tians, who,  were  their  eye  suddenly  to  light  upon  one 
of  those  passages,  would  be  struck  with  terror  and  ex- 
plaim,  "If  that  be  required  in  order  for  a  man  to 
be  a  Christian,  we  cannot  all  be  Christians."  We 
read  that  Jesus  on  one  occasion,  when  much  people- 
accompanied  him,  knowing  that,  in  that  large  multi- 
tude, there  was  but  a  small  number  of  his  true  spi- 
ritual followers,  exclaimed,  "  If  any  man  come  to  me, 
and  hate  not  his  father  and  mother,  and  wife,  and 
children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own 
life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple."  He  has  himself 
laid  down  this  condition.  The  privilege  of  being  his 
disciple  must  be  so  prized  by  us,  that  we  are  ready  to 
deny  all,  yea,  even  that  which  we  hold  dearest,  if  it 
form  an  obstacle  in  the  way  of  our  fellowship  with 
him,  and  thus  prevent  our  attaining  the  object,  and 
accomplishing  the  work  of  life.  And  so  earnestly 
would  he  impress  us  with  this  truth,  that  he  seeks  to 
bring  it  home  to  us  by  a  parable:  "Which  of  you," 
he  says,  "intending  to  build  a  tower,  sitteth  not  down 
first,  and  pounteth  the  cost,  whether  he  have  sufficient 
to  finish  it  ?  Lest  haply,  after  he  hath  laid  the  foun- 
dation, and  is  not  able  to  finish  it,  all  that  behold  it 
begin  to  mock  him,  saying,  This  man  began  to  build, 
and  was  not  able  to  finish."  (Luke  xiv.  28-30.)  The 
Christian's  work  is  something  great  and  arduous,  it  is 
compared  to  the  building  of  a  tower.  Its  completion 
demands  great  sacrifices  j  but  he  must  be  prepared  to 


830  SUFFERINGS   AND    DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

make  them  all.  He  must  show  himself  ready  to  give 
up  all  that  he  has,  all  that  he  can,  in  order  to  secure 
its  completion.  All  that  remains  in  us  of  the  old  man 
must  be  given  over  to  death,  that  the  new  man  may 
rise  again  in  life.  Is  not  our  daily  task  to  surrender 
unto  death  our  own  will,  our  own  wishes,  in  order  that 
we  may  receive  them  back  again  from  God,  sanctified 
and  holy  ?  The  sacrifices  are  hard  indeed,  self-renun- 
ciation is  a  grievous  thing  for  flesh  and  blood ;  but  the 
work  is  great,  and  when  completed,  it  will  form  a  tem- 
ple for  God  himself;  and  it  will  be  sweet  to  be  able  at 
the  end  to  say,  "It  is  finished."  Therefore,  courage 
in  the  fight ! 

Courage  in  the  fight ! — Let  us  draw  our  strength 
and  our  consolation  from  the  Saviour's  words,  "  It  is 
finished."  It  is  easy  to  fight  when  the  general  him- 
self leads  on  to  the  battle.  And  we  have  a  Saviour 
who  is  called  the  Captain  of  our  salvation,  because  he 
marches  in  the  van.  Like  us,  it  was  through  many 
sufierings  that  he  was  made  perfect,  that  he  might 
bring  many  sons  into  glory.  Cast  your  eye  on  him 
when  ye  are  weary:  see,  he  goes  before  not  only  as 
your  leader,  but  also  conquering  for  you.  He  who 
keeps  ever  before  his  soul  the  cross  of  his  Lord,  his 
hours  of  sufiering,  his  "It  is  finished,"  feels  a  new 
power  stream  into  his  being.  And  when  his  knees 
grow  weak,  Jesus  holds  him  up :  when  his  head  droops, 
Jesus  raises  it.  Let  me  then  venture  upon  the  con- 
flict, with  all  its  sacrifices ;  when  I  shall  have  fought 
it  out,  how  blessedly  I  shall  rest !  And  in  the  strug- 
gle, let  his  "It  is  finished"  be  my  consolation  as  well 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  331 

as  my  strengtli.  When  my  last  hour  draws  near,  I 
shall  find  my  consolation  in  him.  Conscience  will 
indeed  have  just  ground  to  accuse  me.  I  ought,  more 
readily,  more  regardless  of  consequences,  to  have 
borne  the  cost  of  building  a  temple  for  my  Lord,  I 
ought  more  freely  and  more  fully  to  have  given  up  for 
his  sake  all  that  I  possessed;  alas,  in  myself  I  shall 
not  be  able  to  cry  with  joy,  "It  is  finished."  But, 
blessed  be  God,  what  belongs  to  the  Head  belongs 
also  to  the  members.  His  life  is  mine,  his  sufierings 
are  mine,  and  mine  too  will  be  his  victory.  Not  with 
my  feeble,  tremulous,  and  broken  voice,  no,  but  with 
His,  strong,  full-toned,  and  firm,  will  I  raise  my  joyful 
cry,  "It  is  finished!" 


332  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 


SERMON  XV. 

THE   DEATH   OF   JESUS,  AND   ITS  EFFECTS. 

Luke  xxiii.  46-48. — And  when  Jesus  had  cried  with  a  loud  voice, 
he  said,  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit:  and  having 
said  thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost.  Now,  when  the  centurion  saw 
what  was  done,  he  glorified  God,  saying.  Certainly  this  was  a 
righteous  man.  And  all  the  people  that  came  together  to  that 
sight,  beholding  the  things  which  were  done,  smote  their  breasts, 
and  returned. 

Beloved  in  Christ : — This  day  we  are  to  see  Jesus  die. 
The  death  of  a  human  being  is  a  deeply-moving  scene. 
What  a  solemn  aspect  life  presents  when  we  view  it 
standing  by  the  death-bed  of  a  departing  spirit !  Seen 
thus,  how  important,  how  momentous  does  it  appear, 
and  with  what  a  strange  foreboding  does  one  cast  a 
glance  into  the  mysterious  new  life  which  is  about  to 
open!  Let  us  then  approach  the  scene  of  our  Sa- 
viour's death  with  deep  reverence,  and  in  a  spirit  of 
serious  thoughtfulness.  We  have  found  the  moment 
in  which  he  cried  "It  is  .finished"  to  have  been  a  mo- 
ment of  great  consolation  and  blessedness  for  us:  to 
him  it  was  a  moment  of  deep  internal  conflict.  But 
no  sooner  had  Jesus  said  it  than  his  soul  became  once 
more  perfectly  serene ;  and  as  we  listen  to  those  last 
words,  in  which  he  so  calmly  gives  up  his  spirit  into 
the  hands  of  his  Father,  and  then  behold  him  bow  his 
head  and  die,  we  feel  as  if  we  had  witnessed  a  glorious 
sunset,  and  stood  gazing  in  solemn  awe  into  the  clear, 
calm  heaven,  still  bright  with  a  celestial  radiance. 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  333 

^^And  when  Jesus  had  cried  ivith  a  loud  voice,  he 
said,  Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit: 
and  having  said  thus,  he  gave  up  the  ghost.  Now, 
when  the  centurion  saw  what  was  done,  he  glorified 
God,  saying.  Certainly  this  was  a  righteous  man. 
And  all  the  people  that  came  together  to  that  sight, 
beholding  the  things  which  were  done,  smote  their 
breasts,  and  returned.''  (Luke  xxiii.  46-48.) 

In  meditating  upon  these  words,  I  would  direct 
your  attention,  first,  to  the  manner  of  Jesus'  death, 
and  then  to  its  effects.  He  dies  with  a  sense  of 
inward  freedom,  with  clearest  consciousness,  with 
fullest  assurance.  And  the  effect  of  his  death  upon 
the  spectators  is,  that  it  quickens  the  pious,  and,  at 
the  same  time,  terrifies  the  ungodly, 

Jesus  dies  with  a  sense  of  inward  freedom.  The 
Bible  speaks  of  the  bondage  of  death.  It  represents 
death  as  an  unrelenting  tyrant,  who  is  ever  goading 
men  on,  and  urging  them  whither  they  would  not. 
Does  not  a  dying  man  present  the  aspect  of  one  van- 
quished and  subdued  by  some  despot,  does  not  the 
sad  spectacle  at  once  suggest  to  us  the  idea  of  a  bon- 
dage and  servitude  under  which  humanity  lies? 
There  we  see  the  powers  of  life  which,  especially 
when  it  is  youth  that  is  falling  a  prey  to  the 
destroyer,  arise,  as  against  a  strong  oppressor,  and 
give  him  battle.  The  spirit  feels  itself  bound  by  so 
many  ties,  and  friendship  and  love  hold  fast  in  their 
embrace  the  precious  treasure  of  which  death  seeks  to 
rob  them.  What  a  sad  impression  does  a  death-bed 
give  of  the  bondage  of  man,  how  painfully  does  it 
29 


334  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

bring  home  to  us  the  fact  that  man  is  not  free,  that 
he  is  in  servitude  to  death!  Hence  men  have  given 
death  a  sceptre  and  a  sword,  have  put  a  scythe  into 
his  hand  and  a  crown  upon  his  head.  But  in  the 
death  of  our  Lord  we  see  nothing  of  all  this.  Yery 
different  is  his  death  from  ours.  When  death  comes 
upon  us,  it  generally  takes  us  by  surprise,  and  herein 
too  does  it  prove  its  might  in  that  it  makes  men  its 
captives  and  its  prey,  before  ever  they  are  aware  of 
its  approach.  In  most  cases,  death  administers  a 
sleeping-draught  before  he  deals  the  final  blow;  and 
it  is  in  a  state  of  sleep  and  of  dreaminess  that  by  far 
the  greater  proportion  of  the  dying  go  their  way  into 
that  long  slumber.  But  when  death  came  to  Jesus, 
it  found  him  waking.  By  this  he  would  show  us, 
that  he  does  not  give  way  to  death,  as  to  a  superior 
might.  As,  previously,  he  had  encountered  his 
betrayer  in  the  garden  with  the  words,  "I  am  he 
whom  ye  seek;"  so  does  he  now  confront  the  last 
enemy.  And  in  the  conflict  he  proves  victorious. 
"No  man  taketh  his  life  from  him;  he  layeth  it 
down."  With  a  solemn  declaration  he  himself  sur- 
renders his  spirit  into  the  hands  of  his  Father.  Do 
we  not  feel,  in  contemplating  this  scene,  as  if  we  saw 
a  victorious  general,  at  the  close  of  a  hard-fought  but 
glorious  campaign,  lay  down,  of  his  own  free  will,  his 
marshal's  baton?  How  regal  is  the  impression  it 
conveys ! — And  let  me  here  remind  you,  to  what  an 
apparent  chance  it  is  we  owe  it,  that  we  see  Jesus  die 
in  such  a  kingly  way.  Only  imagine  for  a  moment 
that  the  death  your  Saviour  died  had  been  by  stoning ; 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  335 

that  he  had  succumbed  beneath  the  stones  which  an 
infuriated  and  blood-thirsty  mob  hurled  against  him  ! 
What  an  insufferable  impression  of  constraint,  of  a 
necessity  of  yielding  to  a  superiority  of  mere  brute 
force,  would  such  a  scene  leave  upon  the  mind !  And 
yet  such  was  the  death  that  awaited  him,  if  the  high- 
priest  had  succeeded  with  the  governor,  in  carrying 
through  his  charge  of  blasphemy.  It  was  only  be- 
cause they  did  not  succeed  in  this,  and  because  they 
were  obliged,  in  consequence,  to  alter  the  charge 
from  one  of  blasphemy  to  one  of  civil  rebellion,  that 
the  Roman  death  of  crucifixion  was  the  sentence  pro- 
nounced upon  the  Saviour.  And  thus  did  it  happen, 
according  to  the  eternal  counsel  of  Him,  whom  all 
events  obey,  that  we  now  behold  Him  who  lived  as  a 
king,  like  a  king  encounter  death,  even  upon  the  tree 
of  shame. 

Christ  dies  with  the  clearest  consciousness.  He  is 
perfectly  conscious  of  what  lies  before  him.  There 
are  times  in  the  life  of  every  man,  even  of  him  who 
has  forgotten  God,  when  he  thinks  almost  involuntarily 
of  the  Sovereign  Disposer  of  all  events.  Now  the 
death  of  a  man  is  such  a  season,  in  which  scarcely  any 
one  can  escape  the  influence  of  this  thought.  A  death- 
bed without  the  thought  of  God! — we  can  scarcely 
endure  the  idea.  And  yet  there  do  occur  such  death- 
beds even  among  ourselves;  and  it  is  a  frightful 
thought,  that  even  those  who  witness  such  death-beds 
remain  unimpressed,  unsolemnized !  I  may  surely 
take  it  for  granted,  that  there  is  not  one  here  pre- 
sent who  would  think  without  shuddering  of  a  godless 


336  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

death-bed.  And  I  maj  also  take  for  granted,  that  in 
the  case  of  no  one  of  jou  the  thought  of  God  will  be 
wanting  amid  all  the  thoughts  and  anxieties  of  the 
last  moments  of  your  life.  Would  I  could  feel  like- 
wise confident  that  this  thought  will  then  engage  your 
whole  soul — that  it  will  be  your  last  thought — that 
with  which  you  close  your  earthly  life !  Would  that 
the  experience  of  each  of  you  in  that  hour  may  be 
this,  that  when  all  earthly  lights  have  faded  from  your 
view,  God,  as  a  great  sun,  will  fill  the  eye  of  your 
soul  1  What  a  genial  warmth  would  then  be  shed  upon 
the  cold  last  hour ! — how  would  the  thought  of  God 
bridge  the  gulf  which  separates  time  from  eternity! 
Even  Christ  had  thoughts  of  his  own  in  the  closing 
hours  of  his  life :  he  thought  on  his  people ;  he  thought 
on  all  the  past  of  his  earthly  history.  But  when  the 
last  moment  came,  the  thought  with  which  he  bowed 
his  head  was  the  thought  of  God.  He  died  with  a 
clear  consciousness  of  what  lay  before  him.  The  idea 
that  the  spirit  of  man  descends  into  the  dust  along 
with  his  body,  is  one  which  is  only  too  natural  to  the 
human  mind.  How  many  nations  have  imagined  that 
the  last  home  and  final  resting-place  of  the  spirit  is  to 
be  found  nowhere  else  but  down  in  the  deep,  dark 
bosom  of  the  earth;  that  thither  all  human  ways  do 
ultimately  lead — thither,  where  all  is  so  gloomy  and  so 
sad !  We,  to  whom  the  light  of  Christ  has  appeared, 
know  better ;  but  can  we  always  believe  as  we  know  ? 
Or  do  we  not  sometimes,  as  it  were,  against  our  will, 
look  upon  that  cold,  dark,  and  narrow  grave  into 
which  they  let  down  the  mantle  of  our  spirit,  as  an 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  337 

emblem  of  that  place  to  which  the  spirit  itself  must 
go  ?  Do  not  some  who  call  themselves  Christians  even 
re-echo  the  melancholy  words — 

The  grave  is  deep  and  silent, 

Its  border  dark  with  gloom ; 
An  unknown  country  lies  beyond 

The  blackness  of  the  tomb. 

But  Christ  does  not  look  downwards  when  his  last 
moment  arrives.  His  eye  is  turned  upwards  to  the 
Father's  bosom  from  whence  he  came — with  clear  con- 
sciousness he  looks  into  that  which  lies  before  him. 

He  dies  with  the  fullest  assurance.  This  is  testified 
by  his  dying  cry.  He  knows  that  it  is  into  the  hands 
of  the  Father  that  he  is  giving  up  his  spirit.  We  are 
not,  God  be  praised!  without  instances  of  blessed 
death-beds  among  ourselves.  Cases  do  occur  among 
us  in  which,  while  death  opens  wide  his  jaws,  the 
dying  soul  is  able,  with  a  cleansed  conscience  and  a 
heart  full  of  faith,  to  throw  itself  into  the  Father's 
arms,  and  to  shout  for  joy  when  all  around  are  weep- 
ing :  such  grace  has  Jesus  won  for  his  faithful  follow- 
ers. Yet  it  is  but  rarely  that  a  death-bed  is  the 
scene  of  such  glorious  triumph.  And  not  the  least 
dreadful  of  the  terrors  of  death  is  the  thought,  that 
often  the  internal  accuser,  which  slumbered  in  the 
time  of  sunshine,  now  in  the  hour  of  darkness  awakes 
again.  This  -occurs  not  only  in  the  case  of  those  who 
know  not  the  Saviour — it  is  sometimes  the  experience 
even  of  true  believers.  Perhaps  the  increasing  dark- 
ening of  consciousness,  the  oppression  of  the  heart, 
29* 


338  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

the  struggle  of  nature  ere  it  will  consent  to  give  up 
the  mortal  coil,  may  have  something  to  do  in  causing 
this ;  but  much  more  is  it  to  be  ascribed  to  the  anti- 
cipation of  presently  beholding  face  to  face  that  great 
Being  whom  the  spirit  knows  to  be  the  Judge  of  the 
heart  and  of  the  life.  The  soul  is  standing  before  the 
curtain  which  conceals  that  judgment-seat  which  has 
ever  exercised  a  mighty  influence  upon  his  life — well 
then  may  it  feel  anxious  and  alarmed !  Rich  indeed 
must  be  the  measure  of  a  man's  faith,  before,  in  view 
of  that  judgment-seat,  he  can  exclaim,  "I  know  that 
my  Redeemer  liveth!"  and  thus  calm  the  anxious 
tumult  of  his  breast.  But  consider,  ye  Christians — 
even  should  also  your  last  hours  be  darkened  with 
such  clouds  of  sorrow — still,  I  beseech  you,  consider 
at  least  to  what  you  have  a  right  in  your  dying  hour. 
Your  Lord  has  won  for  you  the  right  with  him  to 
say,  "Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend  my  spirit." 
Behold,  here,  with  what  confident  assurance  even  the 
prodigal  son  may  die,  if  he  have  again  returned  to 
his  father's  house,  and  there  been  graciously  received. 
It  is  a  child  that  has  been  disobedient  in  many  ways, 
who  dies — and  he  dies  in  the  knowledge  that  he  is 
going  to  his  Father.  The  way  lies  through  regions 
beset  with  hostile  powers,  and  the  land  to  which  he 
journeys  is  a  land  unknown;  yet,  full  of  confidence, 
he  ventures  to  commit  his  spirit  to  a  strong  hand. 
Truly  there  are  many  who  care  not  to  live  the  Chris- 
tian's life,  but  few  indeed  are  they  who  would  not  die 
the  Christian's  death. 

Such  a  death  cannot  be  without  effect  upon  those 


SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  339 

who  witness  it.  It  will  quicken  the  pious  and  sus- 
ceptible :  it  will  awe  the  hard-hearted  and  ungodly » 
When  the  centurion  of  the  Roman  guard  saw  what 
had  happened,  he  glorified  God,  saying,  "  Truly  this 
was  a  righteous  man,"  or,  as  Matthew  tells  us,  "  Truly 
this  was  the  Son  of  God."  And  so  even  that  Roman 
soldier  cannot  remain  an  unmoved  spectator  of  such  a 
death,  and  the  peace  of  a  nature  reconciled  to  God, 
which  breathes  in  the  words,  "Into  thy  hands  I  com- 
mend my  spirit,"  touches  even  him.  The  man  who, 
condemned  by  an  earthly  tribunal,  fears  not  the  tri- 
bunal of  God  ;  who,  sentenced  by  an  earthly  judge, 
can  still  undauntedly  commit  himself  and  his  cause 
into  the  hands  of  God;  that  man  dies  as  a  righteous 
man,  either  as  one  who  has  been  unrighteously  con- 
demned, or  as  one  who  is  justified  by  grace.  We 
may  believe  that  the  thief  on  the  cross  died  ,,thus. 
Doubtless  after  the  King  of  the  heavenly  kingdom 
had  pointed  out  to  him  the  place  in  that  kingdom 
which  was  reserved  for  him,  when  his  hour  was  come, 
he  departed  in  peace,  saying  perhaps  also,  after  the 
example  of  his  Saviour,  "Father,  into  thy  hands  I 
commend  my  spirit."  But  if  the  exclamation  of  the 
centurion  was,  "Truly  this  was  the  Son  of  God," 
then  the  impression  produced  upon  him  was  not  one 
occasioned  only  by  the  fear  of  God  which  he  saw  in 
Christ.  No ;  he  was  impressed  by  the  calm  resigna- 
tion, by  the  royal  dignity  of  Jesus ;  he  learned  to  give 
its  right  interpretation  to  the  darkness  which  had 
drawn  round  the  cross;  he  recognized  in  him  the 
righteous  man  whom  not  only  his  own  conscience  had 


340  SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

vindicated,  but  whom  the  Lord  of  nature  himself  had 
pronounced  righteous.  And  thus  did  the  cross  of 
Christ  proclaim,  that  where  earthly  justice  had  ceased 
to  discharge  its  office,  there  was  still  an  avenger  of 
innocence  in  heaven,  there  was  still  a  righteous  God 
who  acquits  when  men  condemn. 

And  that  very  scene,  the  effect  of  which  was  to 
quicken  the  susceptible  and  God-fearing,  likewise 
served  to  terrify  and  alarm  the  indifferent  and  God- 
forgetting.  The  people  had  gone  to  the  place  of  exe- 
cution only  to  gape  and  to  stare.  They  had,  with 
guilty  thoughtlessness,  cried,  "Crucify  him,  crucify 
him!"  And  as  he  whom  they  had  crucified,  in  dying, 
commended  his  soul  to  God,  as  God  himself  from 
heaven  pronounced  his  acquittal,  they  had  something 
more  to  do  than  merely  look  on— they  must  think — 
they  must  feel  strange  presentiments.  The  light  of 
Jesus'  life  went  out  with  so  bright  a  flame,  that  some 
reflection  of  it  fell  upon  their  benighted  hearts,  and 
imparted  to  them  some  suspicion  of  the  real  nature  of 
the  deed  they  had  in  thoughtlessness  committed; 
while,  on  the  other  hand,  the  darkness  around  the 
cross  taught  them  what  deeds  like  these  deserve. 

It  is  a  sublime  death.  It  gives  us  a  foretaste  of 
the  coming  triumph  and  glory  of  Christ,  as  the  faint 
trembling  light  upon  the  horizon  which  heralds  the 
rising  sun.  And  now  let  us  turn  our  glance  from  the 
death  of  Jesus  to  that  of  his  children,  which  often 
bears  some  traces  of  the  glory  of  his.  It  is  true,  death 
comes  most  frequently  to  men  as  a  yoke  of  servitude  to 
which  they  must  submit.     With  anxiety  they  listen  to 


SUFFERINGS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  341 

the  approaching  steps  of  the  grim  tyrant,  with  horror 
they  see  him  brandish  his  awful  scythe,  and  in  uncon- 
sciousness do  they  receive  his  final  stroke.  Few 
indeed  are  the  men  who  die  because  they  would,  and 
not  because  they  must !  Now  what  is  a  necessity  of 
nature,  faith  has  the  power  of  transforming  into  a 
free,  spontaneous  act.  "What  my  God  wills,  I  will!" 
thus  speaks  the  child  of  God,  and  so  goes  of  his  own 
free  will  into  the  terrors  of  death.  There  is  some- 
times upon  the  death-bed  of  the  philosopher  such  a 
death  accompanied  with  a  sense  of  inward  freedom. 
Possessed  of  the  power  of  transforming  by  thought 
what  is  a  necessity  of  nature  into  a  reasonable  neces- 
sity, he  submits  himself  to  that  with  free  self-determi- 
nation— so  they  teach  in  their  schools.  How  often 
they  put  this  philosophy  in  practice  upon  their  death- 
beds, we  do  not  here  inquire.  But  even  if  they  do, 
still  they  cannot  thus  die  a  happy  death.  Ye  who, 
in  your  closing  hour,  can  commend  your  spirit  into 
no  other  hands  but  the  power  of  nature,  ye  cannot  die 
a  happy  death ;  and  yet  it  is  only  he  who  dies  happy 
that  can  be  said  to  die  with  inward  freedom.  Calmly 
and  peacefully  a  philosopher  may  die,  for  0,  that 
iron  necessity  which  alone  in  his  last  hours  he  views, 
has  a  fearful  power  to  make  the  heart  rigid,  cold,  in- 
sensible, so  that  it  holds  out  unperturbed  to  the  very 
last.  But  happy  death-beds,  I  say,  are  to  be  seen 
only  among  the  children  of  God.  Only  among  those 
men  are  they  to  be  seen,  who  in  the  full  assurance  of 
faith  can  say,  "Father,  into  thy  hands  I  commend 
my  spirit."     Ye  philosophers,  into  whose  hands,  I 


342  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST. 

ask,  do  ye  commend  your  spirits?  To  that  cold 
necessity,  which  upon  its  eternally-revolving  wheel 
of  destiny,  takes  up  your  spirits,  and,  after  it  has 
wheeled  them  round  a  little  time,  lets  them  drop 
again,  knowing  and  caring  nothing  about  them  or 
you — -say,  can  you  commend  your  spirits  into  its  icy 
arms,  and  die  happy?  It  is  impossible.  He  alone 
can  die  happy,  because  he  alone  can  die  with  free- 
dom, who,  as  the  child  of  God,  can  commend  his 
spirit  into  his  Father's  hands. 

To  die  with  perfect  consciousness,  like  Jesus,  is, 
indeed,  a  privilege  which  is  not  granted  to  every 
child  of  God;  and  it  is  this  that  makes  death  so  sad, 
if  not  to  him  who  suffers,  at  least  to  the  relatives  and 
friends  who  stand  by.  To  witness  a  Christian  die, 
fully  conscious  and  self-possessed,  is  such  a  sublime 
and  elevating  scene !  You  see  the  soul,  as  it  were 
visibly  pass  away  from  the  chamber  of  sickness, 
shuffling  off  its  mortal  coil,  and  putting  on  its  robes 
of  light.  Whereas  when  there  is  no  such  clear  con- 
sciousness in  the  moment  of  death,  you  can  but  follow 
with  the  eye  of  faith  the  parting  spirit,  which,  as  it 
vanishes  away,  a  cloud  conceals  from  your  sight. 
And  yet,  even  in  such  a  case,  the  power  of  a  be- 
lieving heart  is  great.  Sometimes  the  soul  of  the 
dying  Christian  is  seen,  by  the  strength  of  a  faith 
whose  power  and  depth  were  till  then  unknown,  to 
rend  the  thickest  cloud  of  mortal  darkness  with  the 
loud  clear  cry,  "I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth;" 
and  thus  has  it  proved,  that  although  the  cloud  could 
dim  the  vision  of  the  soul,  it  could  not  extinguish  it. 


SUFFERINaS  AND   DEATH   OF   CHRIST.  343 

And  when,  if  this,  also,  is  in  the  last  hour  to  be 
denied,  the  Christian  has  still  the  consolation,  that 
before  he  enters  upon  the  final  conflict  he  may  renew 
his  covenant  with  God,  and,  in  the  holy  sacrament  of 
the  Supper,  draw  strength  and  refreshing  from  com- 
munion with  the  Father  and  the  Son;  and  then,  pos- 
sessed of  a  sacred  pledge  of  which  the  power  of  death 
cannot  rob  him,  descend  into  the  darksome  hour. 
And  surely  there  are  many  here  who  could  tell  how 
great  a  consolation,  yea,  a  triumph,  that  last  Lord's 
Supper  has  proved  to  their  departing  friends,  and 
also  to  them  who  partook  with  them  of  the  sacred 
symbols  of  dying  love.  And  did  not  the  blessed 
calm  and  the  strong  confidence  of  victory  which  that 
solemn  hour  brought  with  it,  remain  even  in  the 
gloomy  unconscious  hours  which  succeeded,  when  the 
eye  of  the  loved  one  grew  dim  ? 

And  the  full  assurance  on  a  bed  of  death  with 
which  Christ  commended  his  spirit  to  his  Father,  he 
grants  in  mercy  to  his  children  also.  This  is  the 
glory  of  the  Christian's  death :  for  this  has  many  a 
one  wished  to  die  the  death  of  the  righteous,  who 
never  wished  to  live  his  life.  Those  who  have  no 
Redeemer,  still  feel  a  dim  expectation  of  an  eternity 
beyond  this  earth.  For  mankind  is  of  a  divine  origin, 
and  this  feeling  is  a  memory  of  his  primal  state.  But 
the  certainty  of  an  eternity,  the  certainty  of  an  eter- 
nity of  blessedness,  founded  upon  the  rights  of  adop- 
tion into  the  family  of  God,  is  the  privilege  of  those 
who  are  the  children  of  God  by  faith  in  his  Son  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  them  only.     We  do  not  indeed,  as  I 


344  SUFFERINGS   AND   DEATH   OF  CHRIST. 

already  remarked,  see  this  confidence  always  come 
prominently  into  view  in  its  full  glory,  even  in  the 
children  of  God,  but  some  participation  in  it  every 
true  Christian  must  have.  Clouds  of  earth  may  often 
intervene  and  break  its  rays,  and  the  light  of  hea- 
venly joy  may  often  fade  away  from  the  features,  but 
that  peace  which  passeth  understanding  shall  still 
preserve  the  heart. 

Therefore  it  is  that  the  death-beds  of  believers  have 
ever  proved  an  alluring  voice  to  the  unbelieving,  a 
consolation  to  the  weak,  an  arousing  call  to  the 
indifferent.  Every  one  among  you  who  has  stood  by 
such  a  death-bed,  will  testify  to  the  fact  that  it  leaves 
a  blessing  behind  for  the  whole  of  man's  future  life; 
and  in  witnessing  such  a  scene,  if  you  have  not  felt 
that  it  is  worth  while  to  be  a  Christian  in  order  to 
live  happily,  you  have  at  least  felt  it  worth  while 
being  a  Christian  in  order  to  die  happily.  Hence 
what  blessings  does  he  who  has  the  cure  of  souls  reap 
from  this  part  of  his  labours.  Truly  at  such  death- 
beds the  conscientous  clergyman  learns  more  than  he 
teaches,  receives  more  than  he  can  give.  Like  the 
cross  of  his  Lord,  the  death-bed  of  the  Christian 
speaks  consolation  to  the  weak,  awakening  to  the 
indifferent,  but,  at  the  same  time,  it  lifts  up  its  warn- 
ing voice  against  the  hardened  and  the  God-for- 
getters.  When  they  see  even  the  righteous  man 
engaged  in  such  sore  conflict  with  the  terrors  of 
death,  they  are  forced  to  exclaim,  "If  these  things  be 
done  in  a  green  tree,  what  shall  be  done  in  the  dry  ?" 
And  as  they  see  how,  in  this  hardest  of  all  struggles, 


SUFFERINGS  AND  DEATH  OF  CHRIST.     345 

victory  is  given  to  faith  aloney^hey  must  cry,  "Who 
shall  deliver  me  from  the  body  of  this  death  ?"  Yes ; 
many  a  hardened  sinner,  like  the  people  at  the  cross 
of  the  dying  Jesus,  has  turned  from  the  death-bed  of 
the  departing  Christian,  and  has  smitten  upon  his 
breast,  as,  filled  with  many  dark  forebodings,  he 
thought  upon  his  own  last  hour. 

0  Father  of  eternal  love ! 

Look  from  thy  throne  in  heaven  above, 
And  0!  my  Rock  and  Refuge  prove, 
When  the  dark  waters  roun'd  me  be. 

0,  strengthen  then  my  feeble  faith. 
And  make  me  conqueror  in  death, 
To  sing,  even  with  my  parting  breath: 
Death  has  no  sting  for  me ! 

1  fear  thee  not,  thou  cruel  foe, 
Though  fierce  thy  rage ;  for  well  I  know 
"Whither  my  ransomed  soul  shall  go 

When  falls  my  earthly  day. 

The  quiet  grave  my  woes  shall  end ; 
My  soul  I'll  calm  to  God  commend, 
And  to  the  land  of  light  shall  wend 
My  angel-guided  way ! 


THE    END. 


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